The Body of Christ
Have you ever thought about the idea that you are an integral part of God’s bigger plan? If you are a fellow believer in Christ, then you are part of something bigger—something much bigger than you might realize. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he makes it clear that each one of us is a vital part of the Body of Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13: 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.
Jesus is obviously no longer here in physical form on this earth. When he was here, He could only be at one place at one time interacting with a limited number of people. However, when Jesus left earth for Heaven, He left the Body of Christ (the Church), to carry on His mission of pointing people to Heaven and of making disciples. His Body, literally, is all around the world, representing the risen Lord.
We each have a role to play
This is where you and I come into the picture. We each are a part of His Body. Let me ask you this, how many of your body parts do you want to be functioning? Would you be ok with 50, 75, or 90%? Well, I don’t think Jesus would either. In churches (and other areas of life), there is something called the 20-80 rule, meaning that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. I don’t know how accurate this is, but there certainly are times that it feels truer than not. Just as we would want all our body parts to be working, Jesus would desire that also for His Body. My question to you is, “Are you using the gifts, talents, and resources that the Lord has given you for His greater work?” If you are, awesome, press on. If you aren’t, I’m sure your church would love to help you discover what your gifts are and how you might be best used for God’s work.
It’s not “we have to,” but it’s “we get to”
If you think about it, the Lord could accomplish His plan without us. No really, He is more than capable, He is the All-Mighty, All-Powerful God. He could also just use His angels that are way more efficient and not to mention, obedient. But no, He chooses to use redeemed men and women like you and me to be “ambassadors” to represent Him. It might be easy to be thinking, “Aren’t these roles for the leadership and pastors of the church?” I’m glad you asked. Paul explains that pastors are to equip the saints (that would be any believer in Jesus) to do the work of the ministry (Ephesians 44:11,12). The function of pastors is to come alongside to coach and train the saints into doing the work of the ministry. “Are you willing to simply say ‘Yes’ and join the greater movement of what God wants to do in this world?” All I can say is that you were made for this! It’s amazing that we “get to” be a part of what He is doing, and that is truly a privilege.
No Lone Ranger Christians
We were designed to be together. No individual body part can survive for long on its own. To say the least, a body part that is not connected to the rest of the body would be a disturbing thing to witness. In the same way, we were designed to be in community and be connected to one another. There is no way that a single body part can fulfill its true function unless it is operating in cooperation with the other parts. We might have our reasons for being disengaged, but the fact is that we are better together. We were never meant to be “Lone Ranger Christians,” (and even the Lone Ranger had Tonto). No matter where you are on the involvement scale, I would challenge you to become more engaged. Otherwise, others are missing out on what you could be bringing to the rest of the Body.
Next Steps…
If you are a part of LBF Church, we can help you become engaged in the life of the church and to be fully using your gifts. If you are already involved, maybe there are ways that the Lord would want to stretch you to expand into other ministry options. Either way, you could learn more about serving opportunities through our website. You could also email me at troy@lbfchurch.com. If you are connected to another church, I would encourage you to contact your pastoral staff and let them know that you want to be more involved. I truly believe that if ALL the body parts in the local churches were fully functional and were working together, there would be no stopping the territory we could claim for Jesus! Just as in the Book of Acts, it was said that the Christians were guilty of “turning the world upside-down.” May that be said of us!
