The
apostle Paul says that those of us who have given ourselves to Lord Jesus Christ
are parts of the Body of Christ. Sometimes
I think we’re just a big pile of mismatched bones thrown on top of each
other in a meeting room, and those on the bottom of the pile are beginning
to suffocate for lack of spiritual oxygen.
First of
all, we are Jesus’ new earthly Body.
His Spirit lives in us. We
represent Jesus on earth because He’s not here in bodily form to
represent Himself. We have a
major responsibility.
The
joints that are formed when body parts come together in the Body of Christ
are both “relational and functional”.
Joints
are “relational”. By this
I mean joints are natural friendships that care for one another.
Joints aren’t forced
upon you by someone in authority. They
are natural friendships that Jesus has put together.
These relationships are built on our common bond with Jesus.
We thus share His life as well as our lives with one another.
We find support for one another in these relationships.
Beyond
finding support in these relationship, Jesus wants our friendships to be
“functional”. This means
doing something together in His service.
Maybe we’re involved in leading a prayer or Bible study group.
Maybe we’re reaching out to those who aren’t Christians.
Maybe it's helping the elderly.
This activity can be any simple expression of Jesus to others.
Whatever the activity it is, no matter how big or how small, we are
“functioning together” in doing something in the service of our Lord.
We might
want to think for a moment. Who am I joined with?
Who are my friends in Jesus? How
strong is our relationship? Can
we be doing anything in the service of our Lord together?
Maybe its time to think and pray for direction in this matter.
We need
to be more than a pile of disjointed bones thrown on top of each other in
a meeting room, irritating each other as we’re squished together in the
pile. Think about being
joined together with those Jesus has placed you with in friendship and
service. This is what the Body
of Christ is all about. It's
not organizational. It's
organic. It's joints
functioning together in the service of Jesus.
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