Accept Your Place In The Body

^25-26The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don't, the parts we see and the parts we don't. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.

^27-31You are Christ's body—that's who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your "part" mean anything. (1 Corinthians 12:25-31)

I have been in Atlanta GA for the past couple of days, in a series of meetings for all senior pastors in our network of churches, which is called MasterBuilders. As with any local Church this group of leaders has all the different gifts and members that we see reflected in the local church. We gather around a central purpose which is the extension of God's kingdom for his glory proclaiming the work of our wonderful mighty savior Jesus Christ. There was a sharing of hurts which means that we all hurt and a sharing of some parts flourishing causing all to celebrate. We are all Christ's body and only when we accept our part of the body does that part mean anything.
What a joy it was to see people I have not seen in awhile and to reconnect and catch up on what God is doing in all of our lives. What a joy it is to labor in God's kingdom and to be involved in spreading the gospel of the grace of God to the nations. All of us were challenged to to step forward and embrace the challenges God had set before us. There is only a certain number of days each one of has to live. As I get older I am much more aware of how few days I have left. I am thankful for every day that God allows me to live and I don't want to waste the ones I have left.

I encourage you to find your place in the body of Christ that God has given to you. Until you do that, your part will lack real meaning. Your own body is the model for understanding how we are to live our lives together as the Church. The Church was created by Christ for Christ and his glory. We must learn what it means to be the Church and then live out our lives fulfilling God's purposes not our own.