Life in the Body: Reality or Just Words?

***Sorry this wasn't posted earlier! I thought I'd posted it last Friday, but evidently my internet connection didn't cooperate.***

In the previous posts in this series I’ve spoken about some ideas that, if taken seriously, call for a radically different church life than what most of us have known. It’s easy to give lip-service to some of these ideas, but it’s another matter entirely for them to be lived out. Take a look at this article by Jamal Jivanjee, a friend of a friend. He takes a look at this very topic of rhetoric in the body of Christ—saying one thing without necessarily living it out.

Most Christians want to live according to what they say. They want their words and their life to match, and Jesus calls us to this way of living. Usually this is applied to things like not lying, following through on what you say you’ll do, etc. But sometimes larger, over-arching statements escape the same scrutiny. So before you decide you’re on board with some of the things the Lord has given me to share, consider what they really mean.

Jesus Christ is the center of all things

This encompasses not only His Lordship, but His Headship as well. Jesus Christ is Lord of all creation and Lord of our lives. Most churches would acknowledge that this is true. But He is also head of the church, an idea that doesn’t get as much play.

Church activities and meetings are often the product of business-style planning meetings and strategic vision sessions instead of being borne out of Christ Himself. If we truly believe Jesus is central, we can’t organize things on our own and ask Him to bless them. We must give Him His proper place as head of the church. We must allow Him to have His way, even if that means fewer people joining us (which it often does).

We are inseparably identified with Jesus Christ

This means that when Father looks at us, He sees His Son in whom he is well-pleased. His love for us is the same love that He has for Christ. He doesn’t just put up with us because He has to; He actually likes us, loves us, and wants to be with us.

Most preachers use guilt and shame to motivate Christians to live the lives they’re supposed to live. “God’s good, you’re not, so try harder.” This turns in to a treadmill of religious performance, a constant attempt to earn God’s favor. But we are one with Christ! He loves us and has already given us all things in Him. We have nothing to earn, we have only to receive what He has given.

Many times I hear the phrase “God loves you, but…” Many folks feel the need to put a qualifier on His love, thinking that it will give us license to sin. But there is no “but” in God’s love for us in Christ Jesus. And the reality is that His love, when we receive it and allow it to have its full effect, leads us to repentance and a godly life. Will we only speak of the love of God? Or will we actually live like it’s a reality?

Every member of the body of Christ is important

In many Christian groups this idea is stated, but meetings are structured in a way that undermines the idea. Some are gifted in preaching and teaching, some are gifted in music, but ALL in the body have something to contribute to its building up. Meetings look radically different when all members have not only the opportunity to speak as Christ leads them, but also been equipped to actually do so. Will we continue to allow meetings to be dominated by a few, or will we unshackle our Lord so that He can reveal Himself in and through all members of His body?

An important question

So what will you do? Will you only give lip-service to these ideas? Or will you live in the reality of what it means to be in Christ? Will you do you part to allow Jesus Christ to be seen as He is?

In Christ,
Ryan