The Joy of Glory

1 Corinthians 12 (click here)
For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. (1 Corinthians 12:14-20 and 24b-26)

Reflection
The discs between vertebrae in your spine are so small. I mean seriously… how important could a little two-inch wide circle of gelatin like substance be?

You have no idea!… unless you’ve had one go crazy on you.

I had back surgery in December to fix a herniated disc… and let me tell you… it may be an extremely small part of the body, but when it hurts… the whole-body hurts! It had the ability to put me completely out of commission… bed-ridden… it hurt to move anything.

In truth, every single part of our body is important. Recent science is even beginning to see purpose for the often-insulted appendix! The point is, we can’t just pay attention to the complexion of our skin and the size of our waistline, caring only for the things seen on the outside… no… we must care for our whole body.

God has designed the community of the church to function in the same way.

He has made us an interdependent people… and we need all our “parts” to work. He did this so “that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.” We can’t ignore any member in the body of Christ, for when one member suffers, all suffer together!

Do you see the amazing wisdom of God… he designed our bodies in such a way that they demand our care and attention… likewise… he designed our church community in such a way that demands our loving sacrifice for one another.

He designed us to be a cruciform community.

You are a vital part of the body of Christ! And you are called to show others that they are a vital part of the body of Christ! You are called right into the heart of this thing we call cruciform community.

 
*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Romans 16 (click here)
I commend to you our sister Phoebe…
Greet Prisca and Aquila…
Greet also the church in their house…
Greet my beloved Epaenetus…
Greet Mary…
Greet Andronicus and Junia…
Greet Ampliatus…
Greet Urbanus…
Greet Apelles…
Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus…
Greet my kinsman Herodion…
Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus…
Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa…
Greet the beloved Persis…
Greet Rufus…
Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas…
Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas…
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites… (Romans 16 various verses)

Reflection
Greetings…

The salutations that Paul gives in his letters, like Romans 16, can be easy for us to skip over, but they should actually cause us to slow down and ponder their beauty. Here, Paul puts flesh and blood on the love and life of the early church.

These are real people in real relationship with one another. It is easy to see that on the local level they are a close knit faith family, and yet they also feel a real, deep spiritual connection with all other churches throughout the world.

This is a community that loves one another, even those they have not yet met. They share a bond in Christ and that is enough. This truly is cruciform community and Paul calls all Christians into it! We are all to “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” Obviously that has some cultural context, but the principle is still true. We greet one another, welcome one another, readily embrace one another… and not as the world does… out of some sense of duty or just to display nice manners. No! Our greeting is a HOLY greeting. It is motivated by the love that God has poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit! It is a genuine, deep love for the other person because they are our family in Christ!

We want the best for one another! We want Christ for one another! And that is why I think Paul shows us that this Holy, faith-family love is not just a welcoming love, but a protecting love!

We welcome others that are a part of Christian community, and we protect this Christian community from people who would not display cruciform love, but abuse the church for their own ends. We guard against divisions!

Paul puts on display for us the two-pronged love we have for all Christians… a love that greets and guards! Even though we have never met most believers in the global church we love them this way… with open arms, and we are ready to take up spiritual arms to protect them!

A cruciform community is one that greets and guards the church!

 
*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Worship-Creating Community
Colossians 3:12-17 (click here)
On Sundays during Lent, there will not be an email devotional because I actually preach on the passage for that day. If you would like to listen to today’s sermon, you can find it on iTunes by searching for “Shades Valley Community Church” or simply click here.