This Life is Light

The Body of Christ

I heard some wise words from a dear friend this evening; she said, “Let the Body of Christ be the Body of Christ; let it function as it should.”

A simple statement, yes, but filled with much significance.

The metaphorical term “body of Christ” likens the whole community of Christ followers to Jesus’ human body, linking different pieces together to form a whole. Paul explains this in 1 Corinthians 12:12-14:

“ Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.  For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.”

What does this mean?  Well, it means that we, as followers of Jesus, are called to be there for one another, to love and support and lift up and serve.  We are all different, serving different purposes for the Kingdom of God and walking different lives.  By His grace, we all have different roles, just as the different body parts do different things.  As one, though, we make up the body of Christ. 

Being someone who needs assistance to do many “normal” daily tasks, I am forced to rely on others to help me, and I must constantly reach out and ask my sisters and brothers to help me, whether it be driving or helping out.

These circumstances have always evoked a sense that it was not a natural thing to depend on others so heavily, particularly outside of paid help (nurses/assistents) or family members. In a way, that is true; we live in a fallen world where unnatural situations and occurences are in excess. But in His grace, God has given us the body of Christ for the very purpose of supporting one another. While I may not be able to help another physically, I can serve them in alternate ways. Just as others may not be equipped to serve the way I do. We all fulfill different purposes based on the circumstances God has set forth.

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” 
-  1 Corinthians 12:27

We must embrace this truth and not be fearful of vulnerability. 

The Price of Love

This morning, I was looking over some notes I had made while watching a sermon online a few weeks ago. As is usually the case, my “notes” just looked like a list of random scripture verses with no clear theme or message. As I looked up and read through each verse I realized their connection. I don’t think anyone actually reads/views this blog (considering I never use it) but I feel as if writing my thoughts could be a good thing - therapeutic, in fact. So I am going to try it out.

The first verse I came accross was Luke 14:28-30. It reads:

““Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ “

Basically, the building of a “tower” is metaphorically representing the building of a relationship with Christ. If you are going to follow Jesus and claim Him as your Savior, you need to know how much it is going to “cost” you. As the scripture says, you wouldn’t want to “run out of funds” and only make it halfway. Following Jesus and having a living relationship with Him is an all-or-nothing commitment, despite many Sunday-Church-Goers perception. There are no loans when it comes to following Christ; we need to be ready to pay the price in full.

So, one may wonder what we, as disciples, must pay to follow Christ - what is this price that we must pay in order to complete the tower? While that is a complex question and cannot be answered simply, the books of Matthew and Luke (and many others) give us some insight.

Matthew 10:34 reads:

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.”

And Luke 14:26-27:

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

Coming from a very close family, this was a difficult concept for me to swallow; I couldn’t imagine hating my family. But I can now see, Jesus doesn’t want us to hate our families and those who are close to us, He just wants us to be willing to give up everything, including our families and those most dear to us.  He is our number one, above our friends and our brothers and sisters and above our parents; if this is so, then we should be willing to sacrifice even our most precious Earthly belongings for His sake. That is the price we must pay. We must be willing. We must be wiling to lose it all.