Durruck
Pirate!
Without You, The Body Is Incomplete
By Jon Walker
“… so it is with Christ's body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.” (Romans 12:5 NLT)
If you don’t live and work within the Body of Christ, other believers will miss out on a blessing from God. Your role is that significant.
Several times in his biblical letters, the Apostle Paul emphasized the interdependence of believers by comparing the Church to a human body. He wrote that each believer represents various parts of the body: Some serve as a hand; some serve as an eye; some serve in other capacities needed to complete the Body – with Christ as the head.
This picture of the Body ruins any argument that the Christian life can be lived in isolation, or that your mission on earth can be carried out independently of other believers. God created you to live and grow within a community of Christian companions.
He created you to need the Body, and the Body to need you. As we learn to love one another within the Body, God uses that to prepare us for our mission in life.
God shaped you to specifically serve other members of his Body; we call that ministry. It means you can know with rock-solid-certainty that there are members of the Body – perhaps in your small group or Sunday school – who need your support and encouragement as they take a step of faith toward their own mission.
Without you, they might not go.
At the same time, you can know with rock-solid-certainty that there are other believers you know who were sent by God to support and encourage you as you step in faith toward your mission.
Without them, you might not go, thinking you have to go it alone.
A band of believers, coming together in community and unity, is like a body on mission. Shawn, a 22-year-old research analyst, says she learned the importance of working together during a missions project.
She says that, at first, her small group was resistant to taking part in the project, but God provided so many “coincidences” that Shawn was certain they should go.
“While we were there, God opened my heart to the people of India,” Shawn wrote. “There were times when we were just holding people and crying, because all they wanted was to feel loved and have hope. I think it is so wonderful when the Body of Christ works together – rather than separately.”
So what?
· See yourself as part of a Christian community – God can transform any group of believers, who have willing and obedient hearts, into a power team of godly influencers that will rock the world. You’re part of a Body that’s meant to live on mission together, to fulfill God’s purposes together, and to share the love of Christ with the rest of the world – together.
· Think of your mission in life as a group effort – A small group of believers working together is able to do more than an individual, particularly if the mission is ongoing. Think in terms of how you can support others in their mission, and how they can support you.
· God created you for a special role within a larger body of believers – According to your S.H.A.P.E., what do you bring to other believers that might support and encourage them?
To learn more about S.H.A.P.E., click here.
© 2007 Jon Walker. All rights reserved.
The above content is provided in its entirety from purposedrivenlife.com and used with the full permission of the website. Additional archives of the Purpose Driven Life devotionals can be found in their archive.
By Jon Walker
“… so it is with Christ's body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.” (Romans 12:5 NLT)
If you don’t live and work within the Body of Christ, other believers will miss out on a blessing from God. Your role is that significant.
Several times in his biblical letters, the Apostle Paul emphasized the interdependence of believers by comparing the Church to a human body. He wrote that each believer represents various parts of the body: Some serve as a hand; some serve as an eye; some serve in other capacities needed to complete the Body – with Christ as the head.
This picture of the Body ruins any argument that the Christian life can be lived in isolation, or that your mission on earth can be carried out independently of other believers. God created you to live and grow within a community of Christian companions.
He created you to need the Body, and the Body to need you. As we learn to love one another within the Body, God uses that to prepare us for our mission in life.
God shaped you to specifically serve other members of his Body; we call that ministry. It means you can know with rock-solid-certainty that there are members of the Body – perhaps in your small group or Sunday school – who need your support and encouragement as they take a step of faith toward their own mission.
Without you, they might not go.
At the same time, you can know with rock-solid-certainty that there are other believers you know who were sent by God to support and encourage you as you step in faith toward your mission.
Without them, you might not go, thinking you have to go it alone.
A band of believers, coming together in community and unity, is like a body on mission. Shawn, a 22-year-old research analyst, says she learned the importance of working together during a missions project.
She says that, at first, her small group was resistant to taking part in the project, but God provided so many “coincidences” that Shawn was certain they should go.
“While we were there, God opened my heart to the people of India,” Shawn wrote. “There were times when we were just holding people and crying, because all they wanted was to feel loved and have hope. I think it is so wonderful when the Body of Christ works together – rather than separately.”
So what?
· See yourself as part of a Christian community – God can transform any group of believers, who have willing and obedient hearts, into a power team of godly influencers that will rock the world. You’re part of a Body that’s meant to live on mission together, to fulfill God’s purposes together, and to share the love of Christ with the rest of the world – together.
· Think of your mission in life as a group effort – A small group of believers working together is able to do more than an individual, particularly if the mission is ongoing. Think in terms of how you can support others in their mission, and how they can support you.
· God created you for a special role within a larger body of believers – According to your S.H.A.P.E., what do you bring to other believers that might support and encourage them?
To learn more about S.H.A.P.E., click here.
© 2007 Jon Walker. All rights reserved.
The above content is provided in its entirety from purposedrivenlife.com and used with the full permission of the website. Additional archives of the Purpose Driven Life devotionals can be found in their archive.