Love Your Church—Jesus Does! – Part 4

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12

The Bible says, ‘The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body.’ Let’s use what may seem like a ridiculous illustration. Imagine your foot no longer wanting to be part of your body and when you ask why, it starts saying things like, ‘I’m tired of getting walked on and dragged through the mud. Other parts of the body get off easy, but I have to do the heavy lifting. Nobody appreciates me. They talk about beautiful eyes and hair and lips, but nobody writes songs about feet. So I’m leaving.’ When you enquire what your foot’s future plans are, it says, ‘I’m just going to sit at home and watch Christian TV.’ Now, Christian broadcasting is great, especially for those who are shut in and can’t get out to church. But when you leave a church (the people of God) without God’s permission, you no longer function as He designed you to. You may have peace for a while, but you’ll have no fulfilment. And because you are cut off from your spiritual food supply—you won’t grow into maturity. ‘Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand”, that does not make it any less a part of the body…God has put each part just where he wants it…In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary’ (1 Corinthians 12:14-22). Why should you come back to church? For community, nurturing, mission in working together, and being part of something that makes a difference in people’s lives for eternity.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me be drawn to Your people and work with Your people to accomplish Your Will. My worth comes in being with Your People doing Your Will. In Jesus’ Name, Amen