The Body of Christ

You may see this picture and assume that I am trying to say that the body is dead and needs resurrecting. In fact, what this picture points to is a vision and drop of understanding that I had this afternoon while having a conversation with a good friend. God has been talking to me a great deal about the "Body of Christ". I believe that this is a common thread among Christians that have ears to hear Him at this time. If you have ever had Him drop understanding of something into your spirit, you know that it can be difficult to put into words at first, that was the case but He also gave me a picture of what it looked like and as I explained what happened to my friend, I saw that I needed to share this.

God continues to emphasize to me how important it is that we operate as a body and not just separate beings. We are individuals, and He loves us individually but there is a reason for the collective "body". The picture or vision, if you will, was of a mass of people that represented the people on the earth. It was an overhead view. They were grouped together so closely that they were all touching. Let's ignore the absence of social distancing here....LOL. Within that group, there was an outline similar to the photo within the group, that set apart those that were in His body. Now we are told to be set apart but that can be a tricky thing to do or to understand in everyday life. Let's look at what the Word says.

1. God sets us apart: Psalms 4:3, "But know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for Himself; The Lord hears when I call to Him" (New American Standard Bible).

2. We are to be holy as He is Holy: Leviticus 20:26 " This you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine" (NASB).

There are multiple references in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testament, that refer to God setting something or someone apart. There were people, days, possessions, cites, and on and on. God asks us to be set apart from the world. Let's read Romans 12:2,

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your

mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable

and perfect" (NASB).

The interesting thing about this revelation that I hope to convey is that it wasn't just about being set apart as an individual Christian that the world can recognize. This was greater. This was a collective understanding that we are set apart because we are acting as one entity. It was like saying that what sets us apart is that we are connected and move together. That can be seen by the world. In order to be plugged into the Body of Christ, we are believers but we also need to plug into our purpose in the body to assist in the movement of the kingdom here on Earth. So, yes you are a part of the body if you are a Christ believer and He is your Lord. But also you need to be involved in the work of the Body of Christ. If we are all seeking our own way and not inquiring of God what He wants and what He says, that is not being plugged in.

If you are part of a football team but you do not pay attention to the play that was called and you don't watch for the ball what good are you to the team?

When God calls a play we need to hear and take our place. If you are a tight end but are trying to be the quarterback things will not move smoothly. In the Body, an elbow does not take the place of an ear but both are needed to do certain things. All parts of the body are important. If there is a loss or an injury it is felt in the whole body. You are important to God's plan.

Do you ask God what to do or assume? Do you wait for an answer or rush in?

I see that when we plug ourselves into a community of believers in some way and seek to do God's will we set ourselves apart by being part of the collective Body of Christ. Things in our lives change, our focus is not on ourselves. We care about community. We want God's will in our lives and we find healing. He is calling us higher. He loves our intimate relationship with Him and that grows too when we care about others. We can stay connected and add to the kingdom right from our home if that is what He says to do. It looks like doing whatever He called you to do. Especially during this time in the world, it is easy to cut ourselves off and isolate ourselves. Being sick, I have been tempted myself, but I believe that God is reminding us to stay connected to the Body because He is calling the Body to show the world who He is. If we move in unity, the world can't help but see that. The Body of Christ is massive and growing all the time.

Challenge:

1. Get connected to other believers and stay connected.

2. Ask God what He wants you to do.

3. Listen for the response. (if you need help learning to hear, please let me know, I am happy to talk to you about this).

4. Do what He says.

I love you, I need you as my brother or sister to be who God called you to be. I need your help and you may need mine. We are in this together. You are never alone, the lie is that we have God and no one else, but God provides so many others in the Body. He brings us what and who we need when the time is right. Don't give up. You are part of us and we are part of you. Thank you for being you.