Friday, April 13, 2012

Is it really that important??

We've heard it said the church is a body, but what does that mean? How does it look? Is it really important?

Well think of your body...it would be hard to walk without your feet, but it wouldn't do much good to go places if you didn't have ears, eyes and mouth to communicate with those you were with. Each part of our body serves a purpose just like each member of the body of believers.

Simply said, we need each other!! 1 Corinthians 12:26-27 says, "If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."

And one of my favorite passages Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 tells us, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."

Last night I was reminded of the importance of these verses and saw them lived out. A friend brought some sisters in Christ together to celebrate and share. There were laughs and there were tears. Memories were made and faith was built.

So to answer the question that titles this blog, "Is it (the body of Christ) really that important?" Yes, yes, yes it is!! We need each other more than we know. When life is hard and we don't understand, we need sisters and brothers to come alongside us. To help, to listen, to cry, to share hope and point us to Christ. When life is good and we are blessed, we need the body of believers to rejoice with us and keep us humble. The body is where we belong!

In closing I want to share words I penned a few years back during a time when I was hurting. The body rallied around me - they listened, they cried, they shared and they loved. But most importantly the pointed me to Christ and helped me see Jesus when I needed Him most!! Today I challenge you to do the same - if you're a follower of Christ, you are part of the body, so why not live like it and impact the kingdom for His glory!! You never know who the world might see!!

“I Saw Jesus”
His eyes, His eyes welcomed with peace and love.
He cared when no one else seemed to notice.
He listened while everyone else continued to talk.
His arms embraced when others were too busy.
He was honest while the world tried to pretend.
He felt my pain when others didn’t know I was hurt.
He loved me as family because God is our Father.
I saw Jesus…when I saw you.

2 comments:

Kimberly said...

Oh, Jill...how powerful your words were at the end. We DO need one another. And how much we are indeed like Jesus when we choose to listen, to pause, to care, to love SINCERELY.

I agree with you 100%...we DO need the body of Christ. And I am so thankful He created us for relationship...with others and most of all with HIM!

Love you,
K

Jackie Beran said...

Yes, we do need others! Every time I don't want to humble myself and I think I can do it on my own, God reminds me how much I need Him and the body of Christ around me (normally I have to learn the hard way, though!) :) Thanks for sharing your wonderful words that you wrote during that hard time in your life, Jill!!! Just one more glorious way that God can make beauty from ashes!