Greetings in Christ,
How many of you would like a car which was made up of several cars put together? Let’s say the front engine compartment was from a Bentley, the passenger compartment was from GM, and the back trunk area was from Mercedes. First, you would have a funny looking car not to mention the difficulty in mating all the different components from the three manufacturers. You would also have comfort feature components which probably would not work for example: getting your electric seats to adjust correctly or even getting your trunk to open remotely, the headlights might not work like they should, nor your brake lights function correctly.
To get these components to function, you would have to bring the different design engineers together in one place and get them to compare notes in their designs. Their way of thinking would be different, and they would have to find some common ground on which they could start. Then you would have to merge their ideas together so they would be compatible with each other and then design something to work so the car could function properly. The engineers would have to agree as one for this to happen.
This idea is farfetched and would not happen in today’s manufacturing process. It would be counterproductive and cost a lot of money just to undertake. You might as well bring the design engineers together to form a company which makes those vehicles from the very first step in the car making process. The headaches of trying to retrofit everything after the fact would be eliminated. The manufacturing process could all be done as one creating a better car for the public, and manufacturing something people would like to buy.
Sometimes a church can look like this example of this imaginary vehicle. You have different design engineers trying to form individual components with completely different approaches to forming a church. Not to say you cannot have different components to the church, but if people do not work as one, they create something which has no interest to the community in which they are trying to reach. There must be a common thread which is woven through the whole thing. That common thread should be acting as one body with Jesus as the design engineer.
From the very beginning of mankind God has always wanted people to have Him as the center of their attention. As our Creator, He left a hole inside us to look to Him for our needs and help. When those needs are met, we give Him the praise for helping us. We worship Him as our creator and give Him the praise for doing so. There is nothing complicated about it, but we get our minds thinking and try to redesign something which has already proven to be a good thing. God steps in and reminds us of our divided thinking and He brings us back to the original design.
In Noah’s time, he was the only one to be found righteous in the known world. God called him to build an ark so He could flood the earth. Noah and his family were to be saved because they were chosen to continue with the process of worshipping God and to show his future descendants God was the center of his life.
Paul writes to the Ephesians telling them they need to remember Jesus should be the center of their way of life. He goes on to compare the human body to the church and tell then they cannot function apart from each other. Jesus should remain the center of their thinking. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. It is out of this unity of being one they can function even though they are different in their talents and gifts.
Jesus is recorded in Mark as having chosen twelve men to be the beginning of His church. Twelve men who were different in their ways of life, thinking, and personalities, but He gave them the power to preach and to cast out demons in His name as He sent them out in groups of two to the surrounding cities. They were gathered by Jesus as He empowered them to represent Him to the world and with one mind they went preaching, healing, and teaching people about Jesus.
We all come from different families and have different ways of thinking. We have different personalities and talents. We live in different houses and drive different cars, but when we gather as one to worship God, we set all of those differences aside. It does not matter about the house, the car, the personalities, rather it should matter who we have as the center of our thinking. It is when we let God the head engineer and designer create in us those differences and form them as one so we can function as one body; a body which has Jesus as the head of the church.
Paul said it so well, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” May we be one in Christ so God will get the glory!
“Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the congregation of the godly ones. Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the sons of Zion rejoice in their King. Let them praise His name with dancing; let them sing praises to Him with timbrel and lyre. For the Lord takes pleasure in His people;
He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.” Psalm 149:1-4
Lord may we keep You in the center of our lives so we can be one in You. Amen
Blessings,