Who’s part of the body? (another transfer first posted June 27, 2010)

Ok, so, you’ve probably heard about how the church is the body of Christ. (Romans 12:4-5) Pastors preach on this topic all the time, talking about how each part of the body is necessary and important to the function of the body. If you’re like me you’re probably used to thinking of this in terms of your local congregation. However, I think we miss the bigger picture; there are millions of Christians all over the world. They are from different cultures, they speak different languages and they belong to different denominations. Each has their own traditions and rules, but they are still Christians. A foot cannot say to the hand, “Because you have fingers, you are not part of the body,” and an eye can’t say to the ear, “Because you cannot see, you are not part of the body.” Of course, this sounds ridiculous. Hands and feet are obviously part of the body – how could anyone think otherwise? Ever heard of one denomination that thought all other denominations weren’t Christians? Or maybe you’ve heard people say that one denomination was not Christian because of certain traditions. The chorus of a song by Higher Power speaks to this.

“It’s not what’s over the door or the church that you attend, that makes you a child of God and a heavenly citizen. As the eyes of the Lord look this world o’er there’s just one thing He’s lookin’ for. Can’t you see that it’s what’s in your heart, and not what’s over the door?”

Hand, foot, eye, Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, if Jesus is in our hearts we belong to one body and the sooner we start acting like it, the sooner the body will start fulfilling the task God created it for – bringing others to Him.