A drug addict, a prodigal, a gang member, an alcoholic, hispanics, blacks, whites, young, old, new comers, the weak, the strong, the rich, the poor, the hurt, the sick, the cripple, the blind, the deaf, the quiet, the loud, the broken, leaders, followers. This. These people. They are the ones who make up a church body. You know why we call ourselves the church body? Because we are what God considers His body in this world. He works through us to move in this world to reach the souls here; this messed up group of individuals. You may hear the words I wrote and think that they will never do anything for God. That they are too messed up, too broken and bruised. 1 Corinthians 1:27 says, But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. To God, the more messed up, weak, broken, and lost you are, the better. See because He knows when you turn to him what He can give you, bless you with. He can take your life of sin and turn it into a life of purpose.
I am so proud to say that my church is made up of people of all backgrounds, races, personality types. People who have been down more than one wrong road. Sinners like myself who used to live a life that was so much less than what it could be. God took all of us and made us into pastors, preachers, singers, musicians, bible teachers, bible quizzers, sunday school teachers, believers, worshippers, he gave us friends to go through life with, like-minded people, and he gave us all testimonies. Not one of us has the same testimony as another. We came from different places and God has brought us together under one roof to praise Him and to be friends and an aid to one another through this life. That is the power of God. That is what God can do to a broken person. He takes that person and puts them in a place where they feel love, genuine love and compassion. He surrounds them with people like themselves, broken people, and together those people grow and learn more about God. Together those people lean on each other, they learn from one another. To grow in unity with one another and to prepare to beat the evil in this world together.
The church, the body of Christ is a beautiful, wonderful mess. When I look around at the beautiful messed up people in my church I realize that this, this is what heaven will look like. People with different colored faces, with different backgrounds, speaking different languages all together in heaven worshipping the same God. The God of mercy who saved each and every one of us, took our lives and turned them into something beautiful. We will be together one day in a beautiful place, worshipping the same beautiful and powerful God. I think to myself about how proud and thankful I am to call my church my family. We have gone through a lot together. But in everything, we have become stronger, closer. We have been polished together. Broken down and then re-shaped by God. But we were never alone because we had God and we had our family, our church family, the body of Christ to face it all with.
If today you are sitting by yourself wondering how you got to this dark place in your life. Maybe you’re high for the millionth time. Laying on your floor drunk. Maybe you’re crying in a closet trying to hide from a hurtful person. Or maybe you’re overwhelmed by the weight of your sins. I am writing to you today to tell you that there is a group of people out there just for you. They are waiting with arms spread wide to welcome you into their beautiful messed up family. And let me tell you, you will not feel unwelcome or different because everyone there has their ugly past, they just have already gotten to God. You are never too far gone for God to give you life. I will end this blog by giving you a beautifully written portion of scripture that describes how important and necessary you are to the church. Its powerful and the word says it all so perfectly. Be moved by it. Be encouraged by it. Then go and find yourself a church family to grow with.
1 Corinthians 12: 12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? 18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. 19 And if they were all one member, where were the body? 20 But now are they many members, yet but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. 22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: 23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. 24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked. 25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. 26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. 27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
He gives us Roots so we can Fly. Roots and Wings.
