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If We Are the Body, then…
The chorus of a Casting Crowns song comes to mind when I read this verse in Ephesians…
“If we are the body
Why aren’t His arms reaching?
Why aren’t His hands healing?
Why aren’t His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren’t His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
Jesus is the way.”
So, what stands in our way of being the Body of Christ? Why do we so often not reach those around us? Maybe the answer lies in this verse from Ephesians. What would happen if we all loved each other completely (warts and all) and worked together to share the good news of Christ with others? What if we had the spiritual maturity to “grow up” and become the hands and feet of Jesus in action?
Jesus is head of the Church. Yet, we are the body of the church tasked with carrying out Jesus’ wishes. We have each been given gifts to use to bless ourselves, each other, and God! We need to set our hearts on Jesus and use His life and love to inspire us and show us how to serve. He deserves our devotion and loyalty because He alone is head of His Body, the Church.
Our goal as believers is to mature into being Christ-like in the world by being his unified Body of believers. This goal can only be achieved if we speak the truth of God’s grace and love with an attitude of love. How can we expect to convey the message of God’s love, which sent Jesus, if we don’t practice that love ourselves?
Consider how you can become a part of the Body. What gifts can you use for Jesus’ work? By using our God given gifts (talents) we express Jesus’ love. Grow up! Speak the truth in love! Tell each other when we are getting off track. Connect with others. Surely, when we concentrate on these things, the body of believers can become the hands reaching, hands healing, words teaching and feet going in the desired direction of the One who is the Head… JESUS!
Joe and Lisa – welcome to Cumberland! I’m so glad you are part of our family here! And thank you for a timely and challenging reminder of where our gifts come from and how they should be used
Please pray for Melvin and his wife. Melvin sometimes gives us junk metal to recycle which helps us pay bills. Tonight Melvin’s wife got too drunk and gambled away her money and got a DUI. They are divorcing because of her addictions and they have 6 children. He doesn’t have conservatorship of the children and can’t pick them up if she is in jail. So he was out at 10pm collecting money all over town to pay her bail. We were glad we had the last remaining money to get her out and told him a good Christian rehab place to take her to. So pray she gets some Godly help so their family can be reunited and they don’t have to divorce. Pray she overcomes in Christ this destructive behavior. These casinos cause so much trouble in the poor communities. The beer is free if you gamble and there aren’t many jobs and little to do. It is a bad temptation especially for the very poor in a drab depressing environment. I was feeling as a failure spiritually until Melvin knocked on the door for help. Then I knew I was needed desperately by another human being even though it wasn’t a whole lot that was actually required of me. Just some money. Pray for Mississippi, too. There were no jobs here even when the economy wasn’t bad and medicaid is broke. The governor turns back federal aid because of strings attached to it. We are all in need of better housing and cars. Melvin does not own a car. He was bumming a ride to help his wife. The east side of Mississippi has always been this way.