For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. ~Romans 12:4,5
The Apostle Paul had earlier been speaking about no longer living for oneself but rather living for God as a spiritual sacrifice; we are to die to self and live our lives for Him. We are also to live humbly and not to think too highly of ourselves as we have the tendency to do. To illustrate and prove what he said in verses 1-3, Paul compares the church to the human body with its many parts working together as one person. Pastor’s message this last Sunday made this point very well when he pointed out how the Jewish, people living in Jerusalem, worked together to rebuild the city wall.
Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of Hananel. And next to him the men of Jericho built. And next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built. ~Nehemiah 3:1,2
This account of who was building the wall and where they worked goes on and on. God moved the writer to record, by name, everyone who had a part in the work. Pastor explained how that with everyone’s cooperative effort the wall was built in record time. “For the people had a mind to work” (Nehemiah 4:6b). The point was not missed when Pastor made the application to our lives and our local church.
- God saves and uses all kinds of people.
- Christianity is not a spectator sport.
- Together we can accomplish more.
- The most important ability is availability.
Between the passage in Romans and the passage in Nehemiah, it is very clear that we as God’s people have a responsibility to serve one another as the Church grows. We may not be involved in building a wall around our city, but we ought to be involved in the building up of lives. Paul used the illustration of the human body a number of times in the New Testament to remind the people that just as each part of the human body contributed so each member of the church ought to contribute to the overall growth and well-being of the body. There is no room for a member to draw on the body’s strength and resources without providing back some service to the rest of the body.
For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 1 Corinthians 12:14-16
Pastor reminded us of the many needful ministries we have here at Lakeside Fellowship. The opportunities to serve the body of Christ here in Polk City are numerous and there are still areas needing people willing to give of their time, resources and prayers. Please spend some time in prayer this week seeking God’s will and direction as you consider where and how you might serve the body as our Savior Himself served and calls His people to serve.
When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. ~John 13:12-17