(CS4U) One Body

 

Dear God, If you be for me, who can be against me? You spared not your own Son, but delivered him up for me, for us all. How shall you not with him also freely give me all things? (Romans 8:31-32). The things you give are nothing like the things of the world. While the things of the world may entice and look pretty, they are temporary and cannot give true and lasting fulfillment. The things of the spirit are eternal and bring meaningful and lasting fulfillment. Thank you for your many, many blessings. Thank you for my family both biological and adoptive through the church of the living Christ. Thank you for your encouraging touches and miracles in the midst of pain and suffering. Thank you for teaching me through life's circumstances and for giving me strength to endure and peace for the journey. Thank you for all things, for every need you meet, and for Jesus Christ in whose name I pray Amen.

One Body

"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ" (1 Cor 12:12-13).

Imagine with me for a moment that you have won a very expensive car. However, in order to receive your prize, you must agree to an unusual requirement. You must agree to remove one major component in that car in order to receive the gift.

Which component will you remove?

Will it be the steering wheel? Perhaps it will be the left front tire or the front seat or the two headlights. My illustration may seem ridiculous, but you get the point. Unless you have the complete car and have the ability to use all of its components, your ability to benefit from that car is going to be severely limited. The Bible says you and I are part of a larger Body - the Body of Christ. We each have our own body, but we are also made up of a larger Body that has a unique function to play. When you are not functioning as God intended, the entire Body suffers because you are not fulfilling your prescribed function.

When you function in a way that is not directly connected to the larger Body, you are only fulfilling a small portion of why the Manufacturer made you. There is a greater mission that you must fulfill. Today, the Body of Christ is fragmented and seeks to do things separated from one another. Our individual church "silos" stand alone - often as monuments to man instead of the greater mission of reaching the city.

Jesus knew the key to fulfilling His mission was getting His larger Body to work as one. "I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (John 17:20-21). What is your part in the overall mission? Are you fulfilling your prescribed function as designed by the Manufacturer?

 

 

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