The Body of Christ

1 Corinthians 12:14
"For the Body is not one member, but many"

I used to wonder what my purpose was in Christ Jesus. Why did He reveal Himself to me? What did he want from me after that moment? In retrospect, it had little to do with me or anything good I had ever done in His eyes. He wanted me to know Him. That knowledge is a game changer. It is being adopted from our former self into a new and everlasting family.  Nothing was the same when everything I thought I knew about religion and faith had to be discarded for establishing an intimate and personal relationship based on Who He is, not on who I was taught or thought He was. He builds His kingdom and church, one blessed humble soul at a time, with beautiful intention and purpose. How God reached me was through a faithful servant, and in the final summation, that is what His Body is made of; slaves and servants by Him and for Him in faith. For many of us, our calling to God is a reflection of His mercy and grace, and not our abilities and efforts. Our redemption reflects His eternal and immutable qualities of love, patience and grace, and not a reward for some humanly attempt at being good enough. To this day, I have to catch myself from putting God into a box that mirrors my understanding of Him. The diversity of gifts in men found in the Body of Christ are simply amazing and beautiful. Ordinary, peculiar people who are chosen to live a new life, reborn, and repurposed forever.

I have a few friends who travel in their car going to wherever they are called without restraint. Like Paul and Barnabas with a Toyota. In the midst of building a life in a world where moth and rust consume, a better way was found. I know someone who is an encourager and uplifting voice in the storms. That is their gift. Another man I know is a deputy sheriff at a county jail, reaching the unreachable at their absolute rock bottom. That is what and where he is supposed to be. I know a brother who is a giver; wealthy for a reason: God's will and purpose. Some write blogs, some sing songs. Some teach and some preach. Some are sent to far away lands and some change lives in their own back yard. I have a good friend who is used to miraculously heal and deliver the afflicted. His stories are so powerful in building others faith. This list could go on and on and on. So it goes, as the Body of Christ moves forward to the end.

  The common thread of all of these members of Christ's Body is this: They share the same head, the same leader, the same King. Our perfect purpose is God's perfect will, and that is always the motivating factor in our lives. We serve and honor who we know and who we hear. We cannot judge one another because spiritually, we are the same in purpose and essence. The Body of Christ builds upon itself, strengthens others, seeks God's glory, engages in spiritual warfare and bears much fruit in this world we are called out of. We are all the same and yet we are all different. United together from the ends of the world to let this world know now is the time to repent, for the day of the Lord, is at hand.