Articles
Members of Christ’s Body
Strokes are dangerous because they can be unpredictable and stop the flow of blood to an area of the brain. With a stroke, brain cells have only a very short amount of time before they start dying because the necessary nutrients and oxygen can no longer reach them. When brain cells die, it can be a very long and hard road to full recovery, if it can be achieved at all.
In Colossians 1, the apostle Paul parallels God’s church to a human body to which Jesus Christ is the head. He is the brain. Slothfulness, divisions, conflicts, and other sins are like a stroke to a local body of Christ. Sin can stop the flow of God-glorifying works that are the nutrients and oxygen for a zealous church. As a result, the relationship between Christ—the head—and the members of His church—the body—falls apart.
As individual children of God, we are called to be imitators of Christ’s example. Ephesians 4:31-32 reads, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” How we conduct ourselves at home and in the world will reflect the true relationship we have with our God as individuals. How we behave in our relationship with God will affect our fellow brethren and their relationships with God, even if we don’t notice.
We were created to be united as a church in our service and devotion to Christ. Philippians 2:1-2 and 12-13 says, “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind… Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Only you were created to love God and others in the way that you are able. You can have the courage to nurture and spread God’s church in the righteous way He intended for you, but only if you truly follow Christ, leaving no room for obstructions in your relationship with Him.
