The Body
Bodies! We’ve all got one, it’s what we ‘do’ life in. They are amazing. Over the years they grow and adapt as we put them through all sorts of activities: physical, mental and emotional.
We need to look after them, so we spend time caring, toning, cleaning and pruning them. They can get damaged but with the right treatment they usually heal, but there can be scars, both visible and invisible.
Some are not happy with certain bits and spend lots of money on seeking to improve them, whilst others love them just the way they are, and others love to paint and pierce them!
They are incredibly complex, and yet for many of us, we don’t even think about how they operate – we just do it! However, it’s only when some functionality stops and we can’t do something that we then appreciate their awesomeness!
In one of the New Testament letters in the Bible, its author Paul, used the body as an utterly superb illustration to describe the church...
“If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
Paul’s brilliance is that it’s really easy to understand and apply the image. Churches are made up of an incredible and beautiful variety of people. That’s certainly the case in our church.
We are diverse and yet united. It’s our differences that makes the body function, and our Godly unity means we work together.
As we continue our cautious journey out of lockdown restrictions, I believe we need to rediscover the church, the body of Christ, and marvel at its diverse beauty and purpose. In fact, I’d go a little further and say we need to rekindle our love for it!
If you’re not part of a church, then let me encourage you to check one out near you...
God bless
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader