Truth Seekers Newsletter
August 5, 2007: Re-Member Me!
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After a restful summer, we resume our study by considering God's perfect example of how He wants His Church to function. The answer is literally right under our noses (and over them, besides them and even in them!)! God told us that together, we make up the Body of Christ. He created a wonderful "show and tell" of how that Body should function. Today we begin our look at the Temples God built Himself, our human bodies!
One Bustling City!
Any city you can think of on earth is functioning in slow motion next to what is happening inside of you at this very instant. Your heart is continuously beating. Your lungs are continuously expanding and contracting. Blood is flowing from place to place, food and drink are coming in and being processed and shipped through the body, some parts of your body are fighting off offenders (those cold germs you picked up somewhere, that bad piece of meat you should not have eaten), etc., etc., etc.
And the activity in the command center of the brain is even more astounding! Messages coming in, being processed and assigned meaning, messages going out to various body parts to accomplish various missions ... and all this intertwined with memories, new thoughts and dreams of the next mission.
Many Parts, but One Glorious Whole
We look at each other and see a whole person. But, in fact, what appears to be one person is really a collection of many parts, working together to form the one. So it is in the Body of Christ. We are each one part, but put together we are so much more than the sum of those parts.
The Hip Bone Connected to the Thigh Bone, etc.
Paul has done a masterful job of explaining how the Body works. I encourage everyone to read 1st Corinthians 12.
God's Wonderful Paradoxes: Complete, But Not Complete!
A paradox is something that seems that it just can't be right, but mysteriously it is. Each part of the body is complete in its own way. But in fact, each part of the body is only a part of a much greater whole. A tree alone is just a tree, but in conjunction with other trees, it becomes a forest.
Alike, but Different! Who Should Be In and Who Should be Out of the Body?
God has created us to be alike and yet different. Look at any human and you will find the traces of similarity that say we are in the same family. Even those people who some choose to label as the enemy have fingers, toes, eyes, ears, etc. When we made decisions about who is in the Body and who is out, we should consider Matthew 13:29-30.
Jesus' disciples wanted to weed. They thought they understood what should be in the garden and what should not. How curious that Jesus told them not to weed. He said, "Let both grow together until the harvest." Then, Jesus said, He would tell the harvesters to dispose of the weeds.
Rule number one: God decides who is in His Body and who is not. What appears to us to be a weed may be a valued part of the Body of Christ, who has just not matured enough to be recognized.
How many "holy wars" have actually been an attack on the Body of Christ? How many wars have been man's attempt to weed for God? Consider Jesus' directive to pray for our enemies, to do good to those who hurt us. He seemed to be saying there would be parts of His Body that appeared to be weeds, but with love and tending from the stronger parts of the body, some of the weeds would mature and become part of the real Body.
Thought for the Week: Don't be in such a hurry to weed out people who don't seem to fit with your body. Pray about why God is allowing them to be there and what He wants you to do to help incorporate them into His Body.
Diversity! It's God's Design!
As much as God loves unity and wants us to be united, it is obvious from the design of His Universe that He loves diversity. If you want a laugh, simply take a little time out to bird watch. All colors and very interesting designs in one compact little body ... and all different. Move on to the animals and enjoy the sameness and differences between cats, dogs, hamsters, etc. Many similarities, but also many differences.
Take a look at humans. If you were given the assignment to make all the people there are now in the world, but you were told you could not duplicate, not even once, could you do it? Doubtful!
We must infer that God intended for us to be both alike and different. So how do we get to the point that we look at others and think we are not as smart, we are not as beautiful, handsome, etc.? How do we look at others and wish we had their talents? Why do we want to be just like someone else instead of appreciating the unique human being that God made and called each one of us to be?
How Does God Judge You?
Sometimes we live, as if we believe God judges us in comparison to other members of His Body. But in fact, God's concern is that we be the best He created us to be. If He created us to be an eye, He wants us to be the eye He created. He does not want us to waste our time, trying to be a stomach.
But Am I in the Right Place in the Body?
God knew exactly where to place each part of the Body for the best possible functioning of the Body. Consider how well it would work for the eye and the stomach to switch places? We can acknowledge that it probably would not work well. However, how many of us bemoan the fact that we just don't have many opportunities to contribute to the Body?
We point to high profile Christians, like Billy Graham, and say, "Look at Him and how many people he has brought into the Kingdom of God ... and look at me, just stuck in this small potato location."
The fact of the matter is that you have had contact with many people Billy Graham never met. You may have personally influenced a lesser number of people, but you have to remember God's math. Many people who you influenced went on to influence others because of your influence. God's advice is simple: Bloom where you are planted! He has placed you within the Body in just the right place and time.
(If you are wondering whether you are living in the right place, read Acts 17:26 and ask God if you are in the right spot.)
With God's Math, Division = Multiplication!
Many of us would say we understand the concept of trees and forest, but we want to see the forest. How and when will that happen?
When Jesus was getting ready to disappear from sight on planet earth, He told His Disciples that His Body was being broken for them and for many. Many people immediately cut to the picture of the crucifixion and come to the conclusion that He must have been referring to His Physical Body being broken.
God knew we might misunderstand. So He took great care to include in His Word the fact that not one bone of Jesus' Body was broken. However, the very essence of Jesus was broken ... as in "divided". While all that wonderful Spirit had resided in the one physical Body called Jesus, at the point of Jesus' death, that Spirit was released into many bodies.
God had already designed it to be so. Paul seemed shocked that not everyone knew. "What? Know you not that your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit?" Jesus' Spirit was available to go into all bodies. Each carried different talents and gifts for the rest of the Body.
In John 14:12, Jesus told His Disciples that anyone who had faith in Him would do what He had been doing and more. More? Yes, Jesus said, "He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." Jesus' breaking apart did not divide His Power. It multiplied it, as it went into different bodies in different times and places!
When Will We Be Able to See the Full Body of Christ?
At the end of class, we passed around a picture from a child's workbook. It was a mass of dots. We could not really tell what the picture should be.
We then passed around the same picture with all the dots connected and amazingly, the picture was now clear. We could tell what it was.
In fact, we each represent a dot in the Body of Christ. Sometimes our lives seem to have no order, no purpose and they just don't make sense. However, when we are willing to let the Master Drawer connect the dots, we find that bit by bit, the picture becomes clearer. We begin to see the Body of Christ in our neighborhood and then in our city and then in our state and country ... and ultimately, if we let God continue to connect the dots we will see Jesus in the world and universe.
It starts with being willing to be the part of the Body that He has designed us to be. It continues with being willing to let Him connect the dots, as He knows they were designed to be connected. Jesus told us to "remember" Him. He may have been telling us the obvious, meaning that He wanted us to keep Him in mind. However, He may also have meant something else.
When will we see the Body of Christ? When we "Re-Member" Him! All of the Members of His Body coming together as One in Him! Praise the Lord!!
Who's Driving This Thing?
With all this activity, someone has to be in charge or we are headed for a major traffic jam and a shutdown of the Body. Who's driving this thing? Next week we look at the Brains of the operation of the Body ... and in the Body of Christ, that is God!
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