THE BODY OF CHRIST
The human
body is made up of many parts (arms, fingers, legs, toes, trunk, eyes, ears,
nose etc.), and each has a different function.
Most individuals, at some time or another, have had injuries or
experiences that led to some body part being unable to function comfortably and
efficiently. I recently had left
shoulder surgery to repair a rotator cuff tear.
It has been over four weeks since surgery, but that arm is still out of
commission.
Under the
circumstances, my right arm, with no prior preparation or warning, was faced
with taking over the duties of the left arm. It has not been easy. I never used to give any thought to which arm
I was going to engage when I did this or the other. But now I have to stop, ask
myself what I need to do, and determine which arm will be up to the task. Although my right arm tries its best, it has
not been able to comfortably and efficiently accomplish tasks usually performed
by the left arm, or tasks they performed jointly. Taking a shower, getting dressed, and making
the bed have all become quite challenging.
If my right arm could talk to the left arm, it might say something like:
“I am tired of doing all the work. You are just being lazy. Why did you have to have that surgery anyway?”
Similarly,
the Church (born-again people, not denominations, and not buildings) is called
the body of Christ because born-again individuals, collectively, form the
Church. We each have a specific function
we are gifted or equipped to perform to grow the body and to advance the cause
of Christ. The Bible explains it this
way, “Just as each of us has one body
with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in
Christ we who are many form one body” (Rom 12:4-5).
We need to
take our responsibilities in the Body seriously, remembering that if we don’t
pull our weight, those who try to pick up behind us might not do as good a job. Consequently, the body might suffer, and
God’s work could be hindered. If we
fulfill our individual responsibilities, we can collectively then, as the
Church, be able to fulfill the Great Commission (Mt 28:19-20).
Having said
that, what is your gift or talent in the Church (your local body as well as
globally)? Have you identified it? Do you take it seriously or do you treat it
casually? When you are needed for some
task at church, do you say to yourself, “When I have time; I am too tired; I’ll
go later; I will call him/her later,” etc.?
The Church
is Jesus’ only avenue of spreading the gospel; He did not assign that
responsibility to anyone else. What
should we do, considering time is running out?
We each need to understand that we have God-given roles, and take these
roles seriously to see the Church mature and grow numerically to the glory of
God.
In Matthew
25:14-30, Jesus carefully emphasized the importance of being conscientious
about how we use what has been entrusted to us (everything). When we stand before Him, we’ll have to
give an account of how we’ve used our gifts/talents. It will be quite embarrassing to appear before
God as lazy and unproductive. What a
loss! To those who work diligently, He
has promised to reward us when he returns; He’ll say to each person, “Well
done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I
will put you in charge of many things.
Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Mt 25:21)
Let’s play
our roles fervently, responsibly, and obediently, knowing
that we’re running out of time! We may
be called to account sooner than we think.
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