There's Nothing Missing
Nothing’s
Missing
My wife survived a F4 tornado. Ask her about it sometime. It hit her university campus and destroyed much of the student housing. the back wall to her dormitory was completely removed. I'll never forget that image, like the side of a doll house the plumbing and split level and bedrooms/bathrooms were all visible from the outside. To no one's surprise, the school decided that missing walls made for unacceptable habitation for their students. So, they tore down what remained of those dormitories and built new ones. The new ones had walls on each side. Brilliant! Much better!
God's church has every part in its place.
“18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.”
On Sunday, I enjoyed leading the the time of Discovering RIC. (We'll do it again in case you missed it). Here was my goal in sharing about RIC: that everyone would walk away thirsty to draw alongside other believers in committed relationships of Christ's love.
1 Corinthians 12 begins the 'gift shop' passages on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Central to this topic is how these gifts are providentially given by God for the building up of his body, the church. So the tension is found in the reading of this text:
On the one hand, if I am spiritually gifted as a believer and not using that gift for the building of Christ's church, does his church suffer?
On the other hand, God sovereignly arranges, the members of his body as he so chooses, so am I operating outside his will if I refuse to identify with a local body?
The trouble with both of these lines of thinking is that we place on ourselves the danger of obligation that can lead to drudgery and guilt. As if the local church were missing 'walls' because someone refuses to participate to a sufficient degree.
Rather, I believe these texts highlight the sovereign and loving work of God in building his church. If he has gone so far as giving us his Son to bring the dead to life, from condemnation to adoption, then impart his Holy Spirit on them, he will not be stopped or hindered by anyone or anything in the formation of his bride. It may be that any one of us struggles to enjoy the 'walls' or misses the fellowship of other believers. But, this is a 'thirst' or a lack ready to be met in Christ's body. If Christ is the head, then we can be quite confident that his local body of believers will be nourished, sustained and supplied with all that is needed for his mission and our joy.
If God is arranging the body, there's nothing missing. Wouldn't that be a nice place to live, where nothing's missing?
If you haven't, would you prayerfully consider your given need to rely on his body, the church, as you continue in Him. For RIC, our members raise their hands in agreement that we need each other. We need the Spirit of God in one another if we are to enjoy Him more fully.
I thank the Lord that that is where RIC finds itself today, many who live in loving dependence on Jesus as we joyfully unite with one another in membership.
Much love and grace to each of you in Christ,
Loren