Romans 12:3-8
“For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.” vs. 4-5
Paul’s vision of the church is familiar to us, but imagine how revolutionary this image would have been to those who were hearing it for the first time! Using the human body as a metaphor, he tells his readers that there is one body in Christ, and that individually they were all members of that body. That means that no one of them should be thinking too highly of themselves…everyone was important, and each person was a part of the whole. No one could be the presence of Christ in the world by themselves, but together they could have an enormous impact. We’ve lost a bit of that communitarian spirit in the church as the years have gone by. Rampant individualism, nurtured by cultural impulses, has worked to disconnect us from one another. Baptized Christians feel free to do as they please, seemingly without any regard to how their absence affects the body as a whole. Still, for those who remain a part of the whole, the experience of community in the body of Christ is unparalleled. All gifts of individual members are valued and used, and when one member suffers, the whole body comes together to provide healing and comfort. As we live and work together in Christ, we are the hands and feet of God in the world.
Thought for the Day: How are my gifts used in the body of Christ?
0 Comments