|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (NOV)
The collapse of Block One of The Highland Towers caused the deaths of 48 people in 11 December 1993. Ten consecutive days of rainfall had led to the
destabilization of the soil in the area. The landslide occurred when the soil couldn't hold any more water; it was so strong that its just enough to destroy the foundation of Block 1, causing it to fall.
So
building on an unstable foundation is not wise. Similarly if we do not build our church with a good foundation from the Word of God, can the church withstand the erosions of moral and spiritual values which are
contrary to the biblical teachings? Will we have an empty church like the Highland towers which is now off limits to occupants? This is also true of our spiritual lives. Jesus taught his disciples this truth with an
illustration:
“But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand; And the rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds
blew and beat on the house; and fell with great crash:” (Matthew 7: 26-27).
The shifting morals of our present world can be confusing. We may be tempted to let culture or the opinions of society to be the
foundation for the decisions we make. But obeying the unwavering truth of God’s word brings stability unavailable anywhere else.
Let us be reminded that while we are facing these challenges, we will stay
united as one body with a strong foundation to preserve the church until Christ comes.
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, puts them into practice like a wise man who built his house on
the rock”. (Matthew 7:24)
We can listen to sermons every Sunday, testimonies of others people and marvel at the work God is doing in their lives. But soon after we walk out of the church we have trouble
finding the effort to follow through. We should move from the inspiration of “hearing” about the good being done by others to the inspiration of actually “doing” good works ourselves. We need to do not just hear.
All believers are builders or the “doers” of the church. (1 Corinthians 3:9) “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building”.
One of the building blocks for united church is the
Word of God. The implanted Word of God is a strong foundation to help us withstand the onslaughts the bad weather we experience in our turbulent physical, mental and spiritual lives. We should build our lives on the
solid foundation –Jesus Christ. Our Church is conducting the Adult Bible Study Class for all believers so that we can become a strong building block for a united church.
The Bible stands though the hills may tumble,
It will firmly stand when the earth shall crumble;
I will plant my feet on its firm foundation,
For the Bible stands – (Lillenas)
In His Service,
SMH
|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (OCT)
During one of my flight back from work assignment, which I would normally doze off to catch up with some precious time to recover from the post-work
tiredness, I have the rare opportunity to immerse into reading an article from the in-flight magazine – a cover story about many regional successful entrepreneurs. Skipping the rag-to-riches part, I observed they
all shared two common traits – firstly, they all spent their time and energy in the visionary dreams for the future, not on the great successes of the past; secondly, they never lose sight on their mission of
grooming and baton-passing to the next generation.
Back on the home front, very recently, we all were well briefed on the Government’s initiatives in various mega-developments, one of which would result in
portion of our church’s land being acquired to make way for such project. The Government has the vision in mind, and would take all means to ensure such mission would become reality, to serve the next generation(s).
We sometimes let the word ‘small’ become the ‘biggest’ word in our vocabulary. The Bible reminds us if we are faithful in small things, God will make us ruler over much (Matthew 25:14-30). Can we envision
building big things for God’s kingdom by starting many ‘small’ steps, first by stepping into our immediate neighborhood, then enlarge it to extended neighborhood and beyond ! This is exactly how our church was first
started by the missionaries Mr. and Mrs. E. Eagger, with just serving the pre-dominantly Hakka speaking tin miners about 120 years ago !
In the process of building up the church, we have spent time and
efforts in discipleship, or the ‘Maturing’ process. Just like what Christ has shown, He continued to move the disciples into ‘Motivated’ stage (Matthew 9:37-38) and eventually ‘Mission’ minded stage (Matthew 28:19).
To this end, the mission of God in Jesus Christ is the central organizing principle for the church, “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the
will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:38-39).
In His Service,
WK
|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (SEP)
We all know that the church is an important part of God’s plan of salvation. God, in calling us together as a church and be a component in the
body of our Lord Jesus Christ, sanctifies and make us holy just as He is Holy (1 Peter 1:16). He wants us to be in the right frame of mind to do His will, that is, to be committed to serve, support and encourage
others; and above all, to build and strengthen the church just as Jesus called and exemplified. To do that, God has given each of us some spiritual gifts or natural abilities (Romans 12: 3-8) so that we could use
them to help each other and passing on to others God’s many kinds of blessings (1 Peter 4:10). There is a difference between “spiritual gifts” and “natural abilities”. The former could be found in (1 Corinthians
12:1-11) and the latter is best illustrated in The Parable of the Talents (Matthew. 25:14-30).
When we talk about our service to God, we are not talking about salvation per se; it is our response to God’s
love for us. It is about duty; it is about allowing our love for the Lord to flow in us from Him and then to others around us. There is a Danish proverb that goes like this: “What you are is God’s gift to you; what
you do with yourself is your gift to God.”
Paul had given us a truly wide spectrum of spiritual gifts and/or natural abilities in Romans 12. It is therefore wise to start by assessing your God-given gifts and
abilities. Indulge yourself in the different ministries in your church and find out what you are good at and what you are not good at. Always remember, you will never know what you are good at until you try. Get
feedback from those around you in church and from those who know you best. Ask yourself questions: What do I really enjoy doing most?
How can I develop the willingness to be a more disciplined person and realize I have a calling from God to serve? What blocks or impede my willingness to serve and how can I overcome such obstacles? Psalms 84: 10 reads “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” , “Whoever wants to be great must become a servant” (Mark 10:43). How marvelous and encouraging!
We serve God by serving others. Paul gave good advice to believers when he wrote 2 Timothy 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who
correctly handles the word of truth.” Indeed, God deserves our best. We need to be aware that serving God is not a burden or a chore we must do. It is our spiritual fruit and Christ-like character in action. And, it
is a discipline because it is not something we are to do occasionally or when it is convenient. Whenever there is an opportunity, we jump in. Yes, sink into it!
The gifts God gives us are like seeds
planted inside us, but for them to grow we have to use them. Serving God nurtures and strengthens our character and also in fulfilling our responsibility for His Kingdom. If you have not started serving God or
identified the “Gift Seeds” God has given you, as a brother-in-Christ, my advice is, don’t let another day go by, start doing new things in church that interest you. Through these new experiences, God will reveal
more to you about His “Gift Seeds” and how He has called you to serve Him.
Nothing on earth is more valuable and important to God than His church. God expects you to make the first move to serve Him in
Building the Church in Unity for Christ.
In His Service,
PW
|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (AUG)
Who is the LORD of the Church? The Overseers or Christ? Who is the SERVANT of the Church? The Overseers or Christ? Christ says in Mark 10:42 that in the realm of the Gentiles, their rulers lord over them but to His
disciples He says “NOT SO WITH YOU”. Instead Christ instructs His disciples that to be great in His kingdom it is the attitude of servanthood that is paramount. Meaning to say that the Lord and Servant of the Church
has always been our dearest Christ Jesus. It is His humble attitude that all of us in the Church should emulate as Paul elaborates in Philippians 2. Surely the humility of servanthood brings the Church closer in
unity rather than the pride of lordship.
As I was reading a book on Church History, the author wisely brings to our attention of how the Church through the centuries had moved from a “servant leader” model to
a “leader of servants” model. In the former, all members of the Church are treated as equals and are equally responsible to share the truth of the Gospel. Serving leaders are accountable to the flock. In the latter,
only an “elitist” few or an individual is appointed to direct the actions of the Church. The danger of the latter is when absolute power is given to these few or individual, and history has shown that absolute power
can often corrupt absolutely. Prideful leaders are accountable to no one.
So how do we discern the “servant leader” from the “leader of servants”? Well look at what Jesus did in John 13:1-17, he WASHED
His disciples feet. Back then, it is usually the lowest of all the servants whose duty was to wash a person’s feet. Why? Because it was a lowly job and one that truly takes your breath away. No wonder Peter
resisted. Not because his feet stank but because what on earth was their leader Jesus doing? Obviously Jesus shattered their “leader of servants” ambitions.
So which model do YOU subscribe in your
involvement in the Church? Are you a “servant leader” or a “leader of servants”?
If you can’t decide then please read the full account of what Jesus did in John 13:1-17 and let our Lord’s words in verse 16-17 transform your heart as it did mine. “I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them”.
In His Service,
YF
|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (JULY)
We all have read about those young people who had achieve amazing feats in science, music, athletics and other fields. We often refer to these people as
child prodigies or “gifted and talented”. Examples of these gifted and talented people include Mozart who by the age of 8 composed his first symphony or a young man named Michael Kearney who won US$1,000,000 in a US
TV show “Gold Rush”. Michael Kearney was a child prodigy. He finished high school at age 6 and earned his first college degree at age 10. He actually began teaching college by the age of 17. He spoke his first words
when he was four months old. When Michael was four, he was given diagnostic tests for the Johns Hopkins precocious math program and achieved a perfect score.
Although their stories astound us, such gifted
individuals are very rare. They are the exception to the rule. The vast majority of us are remarkably average. And yet as I look around me in church today I can say with confidence that each of you is gifted. Before
you being typical Asian and deny being gifted, it is not I that is saying you are gifted. God says it of you in 1 Corinthians 12. Read God’s description of how you are gifted, “There are different kinds of gifts,
but the same Spirit. … Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:4, 7). What the Apostle Paul is saying to each one of us is: “YOU ARE GIFTED!” The Holy
Spirit had given you the gift of faith and the Holy Spirit had given you gifts for serving others.
If you do some research on child prodigies or gifted and talented children you will find one common problem
that most of them experience. Gifted children are often bored in school or with life in general. Very often they are never challenged to use their gifts and so they waste them. I believe the same thing happens to
many Christians. Their gifts go unused because they are never challenged or asked to put their gifts to use. I am asking every one of you right now to look honestly at yourself, find your spiritual gift or gifts,
and put it or them to use in service to others.
Remember, you are gifted! As gifted people may we now use our gifts to build up one another in unity for Christ. Amen.
In His Service,
AKC
|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (JUN)
As the sun rises early on the mountaintop, the veil of darkness soon gives way to its glorious light that adorns on the meadow, and so it is one of the most delightful contemplations in this God-created planet to see
the glow of the Spirit’s light on the face of a saint who walks in the image of Christ Jesus.
However the journey of a Christian is not always bright with sunshine but instead there are also seasons of
darkness and storm. While it is true that the “road the righteous travel is like the sunrise, getting brighter and brighter until daylight has come” (Proverbs 4:18) but sometimes the sunshine of joy and
happiness is eclipsed by the clouds of affliction or loss of income or passing on of a loved one.
And no longer we find ourselves walking along the “green pastures…..and by the side of quiet pools of fresh water” (Psalm 23:2). It is during these difficult and testing times that our communion with our Lord Jesus is indispensable. While it is important to establish a holy relationship with our Lord; equally important is our cordial relationship with the believers in Christ who are by our side when we go through the deepest darkness. What are the lessons we can learn from the early Christians in building such a relationship with fellow believers?
The early Christians were always mindful that the Spirit of God was working in and through them in all circumstances.
When the unity with Spirit is absent, disunity spreads itself within human relationship. When Paul wrote his letter in Ephesus, he was conveying his vision of the church of Christ as a gathering of breathing human beings and certainly not a construction of bricks and mortar. Inspired by such a vision bound by love and purity that shine through its members’ lives, Paul encouraged them that: “we shall all come together to that oneness in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God” (Ephesians 4:13).
Life among the early believers was like a closely-knitted tapestry. In Acts 2:44-45, we are told that “all the early believers continued together in close fellowship and shared the belongings with one
another.
They would sell their property and possessions and distribute the money among all, according to what each one needed”. Under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, jealousy and self-centredness gives way to other-centredness. When Paul was languishing in prison in Philippi, he was deeply troubled by the opposition of other Christian workers. Driven by his deep concern, he wrote: “look out for one another’s interest, not just for their own” – (Philippians 2:4).
Another distinctive feature of the early Church was their practice of persevering and believing prayers, Their prayers were not limited to times of urgent need only but they prayed for a long while, just for
the joy of developing their relationship with their loving heavenly Father and for the wellbeing of others. “They all joined together in prayer to God” – Acts 4:24. It is utterly amazing that the first
Church was started in a prayer meeting.
As we continue with our Christian journey, let us together retrace the footprints of our predecessors in the faith who have left behind an indelible mark on how we can
unify the church of Christ through the bond of love and respect; thereby exhibiting the Glory of God to a hostile world around us.
In His Service,
MG
|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (MAY)
I remember what it was like for a family to go on a vacation. The kids in the back seat mar the joy of it all by their bickering and complaining. I recalled those disruptive screams of “Dad, she hits me first!” or
“Mum, he won’t let me play with the toys!”
If you’ve have had that kind of experience, you can imagine how God feels when His children quarrel and complain. John 17:20-2 says, “My prayer is not for them
alone. I pray also for those who believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you”. Getting along is important to God. Jesus prayed that we would “be
one” so that the world would believe He came from the Father.
And to the disciples who were prone to quarrelling, He commanded that they love and serve one another (John 13: 34-35; Matthew 20:20-28).
It should be noted that among the seven things (mentioned in Proverbs 6:16-19) that God hates, He includes “one who sows discord among brethren” (v19). “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell
together in unity!” (Psalm. 133:1). The psalmist tells us that when brothers dwell in unity, it’s like “the precious oil upon the head, running down on… the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments”
(Psalm 133:2). In ancient times, the oil of anointing was full of fragrant spices that graced the environment wherever the anointed one went. May the unity that comes from our love and service to one another
fragrantly grace our families, churches, and friendships!
Christians who get along with each other spread the sweet aroma of Jesus. Are we spreading these fragrant in our respective fellowship groups?
Paul’s words to believers at Colosse instruct us today, saying that our speech and behaviour towards fellow Christians should reflect our oneness in Christ. “(You) have put on the new man,” Paul said, “where there
is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.” (Colossians 3:10-11). Instead of superiority and favouritism, we should demonstrate
compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience towards each other (v12). And above all, we are to “put on love, which is the bond of perfection” (v14).
In the body of Christ, no race, nationality,
or class is better than another. Through the cross, Christ has made us one, and we are to treat each other with honesty, dignity, and love.
In His Service,
SMH
|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (APR)
I can still recall how often we hear this un-pleasant remark “Having built a first class facility, but maintaining it like a third class mentality.”
Of course very often this remark is being directed at our public services and facilities. Similarly, I would agree the same on the church unity. We need to maintain the first class unity of the Church that Christ
built.
A long time ago, a little child in an African tribe wandered off into the tall jungle grass and could not be found. The tribe searched all day, but could not find the little boy.
The next day the tribal members all held hands and walked through the grass together. This enabled them to cover every inch of the grass and found the child. Due to the cold night, he had not survived. In her anguish and tears, the mother cried, “If only we would have held hands sooner.”
Romans 14:1-12 speaks about accepting Christians of differing opinions and do not judge them. These verses assume that there will be differences of opinion in the church on many day to day matters.
Paul says we are not to quarrel about issues that are matters of opinion. Differences should not be feared or avoided, but accepted and handled with love. The whole point is that we need to be united, not bickering. We need to move beyond the many barriers of what separates us into the common ground of what unites us: Jesus !
Don’t expect everyone, even in the best possible church, to agree on every subject. Through sharing ideas we can come to a fuller understanding of the discussed issue.
Accept, listen to, and respect others. Differences of opinion need not cause division. They can be a source of learning and richness in our relationships with one another.
I know it is easy to talk, and
walking the talk is another thing. That is true because true love is difficult to live.
But what if the world began to see the Christians uniting in spite of differences? What if the world started to see how the Christians start to love not only their own church members but other church and non-church members? What do you think the world would say if the Christians' bickering stopped? What do you think the unbelievers would say if they saw us living more and more the loving attitude and a sacrificial life of Christ across all professing Christians? It would be a tremendous witness for Christ. It would be a tremendous assault on the enemy and I know that God would use it mightily to bring others to Himself by His amazing grace.
God expects us to maintain unity in the church. Jesus even prayed that all believers “be one.” We cannot allow Satan to destroy the churches unity.
We must be on guard all the time for situations that could divide the church. It is a serious offense to cause divisions in the body of Christ. “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.” (1 Corinthians 3:17)
We need to look at our own hearts and our own minds and compare them to Jesus and the Scripture. Wherever the two are not in agreement, it is we who need to change.
We need to pray that the Lord would provide opportunities to work with other Christians across personalities, styles or capabilities. We need to recognize that we have differences of opinions and styles and that is okay. But we need to lift each other up and be united in Christ.
In His Service,
WK
|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (Mar)
How does one build the Church? What kind of model? Conservative or Charismatic? Fundamentalist
or Liberal? Open or Exclusive? Did Jesus ever give us a blueprint of how His Church should be or ought not to be? The answer can be found all over the Bible and yet one such verse in the Bible is the key of it all - it is found in Matthew 16:18 where Jesus says of Peter’s confession of Him “on this Rock I will build My Church”. Who is this Rock? It’s none other than Jesus Christ the Rock of our Salvation (Psalm 18). Hence a Church model is not based on the collective characteristics of it’s members, neither is it determined by the way a leader leads, rather a Church model is based upon the very nature of our very Lord Himself. His characteristics, His teachings, His words, His actions, His commandments, His mindset, His world view, everything and anything that Christ is as recorded in the Bible, then we as a Church ought to be.
Ephesians 2:20-21 and 1 Peter 2:4-8 reminds us that the Church of Jesus (as Jesus says in Matthew 6:18 that the Church belongs to Him) is built up of two type of stones. We the living stones that
collectively make up the structure of the Church, and THE Living Stone, that is our Lord Jesus, is the cornerstone that holds the entire structure of the Church in place. Again we are told to emulate Christ in
building His Church. So what are the characteristics of Christ that we should follow when we build His Church? Well one way is by using the themes of the four books of the Gospel as we can find below:
1)
Matthew – Matthew is a FELLOWSHIP Gospel. It is here that we find the phrase “God with us”. It is also here that we find the “Sermon on the Mount” where Jesus describes the kind of attitude His followers should have while engaging with one another and the world. The Church is built up when it has strong fellowship with God and with one another within the church members and outside as well.
2)
Mark – Mark is a MISSION Gospel. It is a Gospel of action. It gives short narratives of Jesus’s mission on earth. It ends with Jesus’s “Great Commission” and the responsiveness of His followers to this great command. The Church is built up when it’s people are mission centric and are willing to preach the Gospel anywhere, anytime.
3)
Luke – Luke is a WORSHIP Gospel. It is a Gospel where you find many songs and prayers to God coming from people who dedicated their lives to God and acknowledging Him as King and Lord of their life. That’s what worship means. The Church is built when it’s people worship God not with their lips but with all their heart, soul and mind as well.
4)
John – John is a WORD Gospel. It is this Gospel that one is able to dig deep into the understanding of who Jesus is, the Son of God. Truly if a believer wants to know God then He needs to familiarise and equip himself with the Scriptures. This Gospel ends by saying that the world’s books cannot accommodate all that Jesus has done and rightly so, for the Church of Jesus is still being built through His Word even to this day.
In His Service,
YF
|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (Feb)
Often we pray for Christian unity in general and very much so for the unity of members and leaders of our own church. It is due of the diversity of
believers in churches and that of other Christian denominations. However, despite the diversities, factions, divisions and perhaps even disagreements, the Christian Church is, always has been and always will be –
United. The reason we can make this claim is because that is what the Bible says. It refers to the Church as the body (not bodies) of Christ. The apostle Paul wrote in (Ephesians 4:4-6) “There is one body and one
Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is all and through all and in all.” “The body is a unit, though it is made up of
many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12). And Christ, being God himself, cannot be divided hence believers are always united in Him.
Biblically, we are reminded that ‘love is the greatest unifying force’. Our Lord Jesus Christ reminded us in John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one
another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” To love others was not a new commandment (1 John 2: 7-8), but to love others as much as Christ loved others was something
beyond time and space, because it is His love. Now we are to love others based on Jesus’ sacrificial love for us. Such love will bring unbelievers to Christ; it will also keep believers strong and united in a world
hostile to God. Jesus Christ is a living example of God’s love, as we are to be living examples of Christ’s love.
The world is watching us as believers and therefore our love for one another must be something
more intense than warm feelings. It has to be an attitude that reveals itself in action. It means helping when it is not convenient, giving when it hurts, devoting energy to others’ welfare rather than our own,
absorbing hurts from others without complaining or fighting back. This kind of love is hard to do. That is why the people notice when we do it and know we are empowered by a supernatural source which can only come
from God, and God alone. And 1 Corinthians 13: 4-10 is a beautiful description of what Christ like love is. “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians
13:13) How beautiful!
God also gives us spiritual gifts to build His church, to serve and to strengthen fellow Christians. The spiritual gifts are for the church. The Parable of the Talents (Matthews 25:
14-30) reveals to us believers in Christ the necessity of using well what God has entrusted to us. Our time, abilities and money are not ours – we are merely caretakers, not owners. Everything comes from our
Creator. Use whatever blessings He has entrusted us as tools to build His Church bringing glory and honour to Him in Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour.
In His Service,
PW
|
|
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN UNITY FOR CHRIST (Jan)
Gazing at the resplendent rainbow that spans across the sky, its colors are glorious but it soon passes away. The beautiful colors give way to the fleecy clouds and the sky is no longer brilliant with the tints of
heaven. Its beauty is no longer established.
How can it be so when it is only a glorious show made up of transitory sunbeams and passing raindrop. Our Christian upright character and godly demeanor must not resemble the rainbow in its short-lived beauty but be established even in the severest test of times after all we have “our roots and foundation in love, so that together with all God’s people may have the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep is Christ’s love” (Ephesians 3:17b-18). In retaining our individuality, how can we then blend with each other to produce a symphony that God has composed?
Simon Peter openly acknowledged the divine correction when he said in Acts 10:28b that “God has shown me that I must not consider any person ritually unclean or defiled”. Before Peter was corrected by
the will of God, he would never have entered the house of Cornelius since a Jew is not allowed by his religion to visit or associate with Gentiles. But the vision showed Peter that ‘clean’ and ‘unclean’ were
terms that should not apply to persons of whom are being created in Christ likeness.
We can hold different convictions about what actions are right or wrong but we should never allow our convictions spill over to shape our attitude and approach toward fellow Christians.
In Acts 2:42 we are
reminded that “the early Christians spent their time in learning from the apostles, taking part in the fellowship and sharing in the fellowship meals and prayers”.
This is the distinctive picture of a church that gathered to pray, worship and fellowship in a spirit of unity and harmony. It is in this same spirit that Christians, even with their differences, are bound together with others in a living organism which is the body of Jesus Christ.
The hallmark of Christ’s body, the church is when the apostle Paul declared in Romans 12:5 that “…though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ and we are all joined to each other as different
parts of one body”. God blends together persons who are different, each with different gifts, so that each of our strength can bring out the best from the others. Only as we live together in love and
humility; serving one another with the different spiritual gifts which God has provided, can we as individuals be all we were, designed to be in Christ’s master plan.
Finally when Jesus prayed for His
disciples in John 17:22: “I gave them the same glory you gave me, so that they may be one, just as you and I are one”, it was a model built around the intimate relationship Jesus enjoyed with his Father. They
are bound together by shared nature; by mutual love; by oneness of purpose; by a single and harmonious will.
In the same manner, Jesus asked that we have the same kind of relationship with Him as He has with His Father and also that we might be bound to Him; given a new nature that is like His: a capacity to love that reflects His own, a place in God’s plan and purpose and a full knowledge of God’s will. Being equipped with these gifts found in Jesus, we can be like Him not only in unifying His Church but also in showcasing God’s glory to the world.
In His Service,
MG
|
|
