28th NOV
chap 17 : “a place to belong”
We are called to belong, not just to believe. We are not created for isolation and seclusion; we are created for community, shaped for fellowship and fashioned for a family. In God’s family, we are interconnected to every believer, and we all belong to each other for eternity. We are members of the church body. Being a member means being a vital organ of a living body, an indispensable part of the body of Christ. The church is a live thing; it’s a body, a group of Christians wanting to serve the lord. It’s not a body or an organization. It’s like an organism that is alive and kicking.
For all the organs of the body to function, the must all be connected to the body. Thus, for the body of Christ, everyone has to cooperate, to be connected to the body so that each can serve according to what the lord has prepared for them. Everyone is created for a specific role, but we will miss the 2nd purpose of our lives if we’re not attached to a local, living church. We only discover our role in lives through our relationship with others, we discover that we can be a blessing and help to other’s lives.
If an organ is somehow severed from its body, it can longer survive on its own. It will shrivel and die. It cannot exist on its own, and it’s the same as the body of Christ. If you are somehow disconnected and cut off from the lifeblood of a local body, you spiritual life will waver and gradually cease to exist. That is why usually the symptoms of backsliding and spiritual decline are inconsistent attendance of church and cell group meetings.
Nowadays, membership in church is inconsequential and trivial; no one stops to care about the membership in church. People are not consolidated properly, and new believers gradually step out of their faith. The church is indestructible and will continue to exist for eternity. Some people who are arrogant or proud may say that they do not need the church to help oversee their spiritual growth. However, the bible says that the church is so significant that Jesus died on the cross for it. The church is normally referred to as “the bride of Christ” and the “body of Christ”. It makes no sense if we tell Jesus “I love you, but I hate your wife” or “I accept you but reject your body”. Thus, we have to love our spiritual family no matter how difficult it is. Sometimes, it is extremely hard, seeing that some of our fellow brothers and sister are very difficult to deal with. They may be imperfect, but we have to learn to love and care for them no matter how hard it is. Try and talk to them, teach them and mould them so that their lives and character can be changed and transformed.
chap 17 : “a place to belong”
We are called to belong, not just to believe. We are not created for isolation and seclusion; we are created for community, shaped for fellowship and fashioned for a family. In God’s family, we are interconnected to every believer, and we all belong to each other for eternity. We are members of the church body. Being a member means being a vital organ of a living body, an indispensable part of the body of Christ. The church is a live thing; it’s a body, a group of Christians wanting to serve the lord. It’s not a body or an organization. It’s like an organism that is alive and kicking.
For all the organs of the body to function, the must all be connected to the body. Thus, for the body of Christ, everyone has to cooperate, to be connected to the body so that each can serve according to what the lord has prepared for them. Everyone is created for a specific role, but we will miss the 2nd purpose of our lives if we’re not attached to a local, living church. We only discover our role in lives through our relationship with others, we discover that we can be a blessing and help to other’s lives.
If an organ is somehow severed from its body, it can longer survive on its own. It will shrivel and die. It cannot exist on its own, and it’s the same as the body of Christ. If you are somehow disconnected and cut off from the lifeblood of a local body, you spiritual life will waver and gradually cease to exist. That is why usually the symptoms of backsliding and spiritual decline are inconsistent attendance of church and cell group meetings.
Nowadays, membership in church is inconsequential and trivial; no one stops to care about the membership in church. People are not consolidated properly, and new believers gradually step out of their faith. The church is indestructible and will continue to exist for eternity. Some people who are arrogant or proud may say that they do not need the church to help oversee their spiritual growth. However, the bible says that the church is so significant that Jesus died on the cross for it. The church is normally referred to as “the bride of Christ” and the “body of Christ”. It makes no sense if we tell Jesus “I love you, but I hate your wife” or “I accept you but reject your body”. Thus, we have to love our spiritual family no matter how difficult it is. Sometimes, it is extremely hard, seeing that some of our fellow brothers and sister are very difficult to deal with. They may be imperfect, but we have to learn to love and care for them no matter how hard it is. Try and talk to them, teach them and mould them so that their lives and character can be changed and transformed.
posted by poke-the-curry @ 5:41 PM
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