11/12/07 - Life Journal - Our Family in Christ

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
1 Corinthians 12:26

In his analogy Paul uses the human body to show how various pieces, big and seemingly small, come together in God's perfect plan. One cannot do the function of another, when one fails the entire body suffers and when another part does something "extraordinary" the body as a whole is celebrated. This perfectly describes the church as a living body of different parts each with a particular purpose.

The verse that hit me is the one above. True, we are all different parts working towards a common purpose but there is more to that in Paul's analogy. As a church family, as in our own family, there will be those that "rub us wrong". We can't avoid any fellow followers just as we can't avoid any family members. On top of that, we must always be there for one another. When someone in our "Christ family" is going through times of trouble it is our God given duty to be there for them everytime. It's easy to rejoice when one is honored, but the image of Christ in us will show by how we treat a member that is in suffering.

Lord, thank you for the family in Christ that you have given me. May I be everything for them all.