The body of Christ in action

The church – the body of Christ on earth – has so many parts! What if you could see the whole, entire church? What would it look like to you? So many different kinds of people, and yet united and together in Christ. Wow! What a vision that would be!

If you could hear the whole church – the body of Christ on earth – singing together, what would it sound like? Imagine if the whole, worldwide church all sang “Amazing Grace”, for example, at the same time. So many languages, but all singing the same tune, united and together singing of the love-power of Christ. Imagine how far that holy sound would carry!

Can you imagine what would happen if the whole, worldwide church all loved in action like Christ, serving and working together with hands and feet led and fed by Him? So many different hands and feet, all moving at His direction, united and together acting out of all-encompassing love for God and other human beings. So many disciples of Christ....so many hands, feet, and hearts...Imagine that!

The church – the body of Christ on earth – has so many parts, and all are important. What holds it together and gives it purpose? Christ Jesus. He is the cornerstone on which the church is built and grounded. Each part (person) in the church is held together in the Body by love – the eternally living, permanent, and powerful love God gives us in Christ. Like the heart pumps blood throughout our bodies, keeping each part alive and working together, so it is with the love of Christ. His love flows in, among, and between us, holding us together as His church in love, forgiveness, and eternal life.

Especially in these times when it’s so easy to feel apart, disconnected, and alone, we are reminded that the church – the body of Christ on earth – is made up of disciples of Christ here and all over the world held together more strongly than we can imagine, not by anything physical (like a human-constructed building), but by the love of God in Christ.

Especially in these times when we can feel so overwhelmed by everything going on around us that our spirits can begin to feel crushed, we are reminded by the Lord to breathe. Breathe in the very Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. Breathe in and fill up with the love of God, and breathe out all that is not loving and life-giving. Give Him your worries, anxieties, and fears. Just as our physical bodies need to breathe and be cleansed, so do our spirits.

Finally, what difference does it make when the church – the body of Christ on earth – is truly in action? Literally, it makes all the difference in the world. It is all of us building our lives on the cornerstone that is Christ. All of us, determined to be held together in and by the love of God in Christ. All of us, breathing that love in together, allowing God to fill us with all that is loving, cleansing, and life-giving. All of us reaching out together, united in Him, our lives singing His song, our hands, feet, and lives loving, forgiving, and including others as Christ teaches and leads us.

That’s the body of Christ in action – making an amazing difference in the world. Remember that no matter what the challenges, no matter what the struggles, no matter what the obstacles....God is love, and that love wins every time.

God loves you so much that God offers you Christ anew each day – the eternal cornerstone on which to build your life, God’s breath of love and life to cleanse and fill you, and the church – the body of Christ on earth – that we might uphold and strengthen one another on our earthly journey as....the body of Christ.