The Body of Christ

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. Acts 20:28

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 1 Corinthians 12:27

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14

My daughter-in-law gave me a five-minute journal for Christmas one year, and at the top of each day is a new quote to appreciate. An example: “When we create peace, harmony, and balance in our minds, we’ll find it in our lives” ~ Louise Hay

Several church members came in to help me move tables and chairs recently, a large task that would have taken me at least an hour and took us only 20 minutes. Time, energy, and effort was the gift, not money. Our church, like most, depends on both volunteerism and financial contributions. I think of the church and the members of its community, how we all have a role to play. Might this create peace, harmony, and balance in the church as well? With grace, it can work that way!

Scripture bears this out:

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Romans 12:4-5

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to seek our part as the body of Christ, looking for ways we can serve you in the larger community of Christ as well as our own church community. Help us to appreciate what others have to offer as well. Amen.

Donna Gustafson