The Church, the body of Christ
The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? 1 Corinthians 12:12-17
There are people that look at the church as a place to attend meetings. In the New Testament, the church was meant to be a place for community. From the text, the apostle Paul compared the church to a human body with many parts whose head is Christ. It is a place where each part takes part loving one another (see Romans 12:10), bearing each other’s burden (see Galatians 6:5), praying for one another (see Acts 2:42), and joined together advancing the message of salvation (see Philippians 1:27). All these are possible through the working of the Holy Spirit within the body. A person claiming to be a believer and a follower of Christ finds it important to be a part of a community. Paul used the analogy of the body parts to describe that each part should be attached to the body. If you are a hand and you are severed from the body, the blood that provides life will not be available to you. Same thing with a believer that will be detached from the community of believers, you will not be available to receive the nourishment you need so you will function the way God designed you. A believer will not forsake taking part in the life of the body of Christ. This is how God designed the church to function so it can help believers to persevere in their faith. “For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ” (Hebrews 3:14). Ask God and seek His leading to help you find a community of believers that will encourage you to grow in your relationship with Christ. Do not let the hurt in the past discourage you instead seek out believers that you know will be blessed because you took part in their life. “A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked” (Psalms 84:10).
Blessings,
