Bella Vista Church of Christ

LIFELINES

07/29/2020

David Bragg

Greensboro NC

 

A Closer Look At The Church

 

  Have you ever set out to put together a jigsaw puzzle? If so, you know that each piece has its place in order for the picture to come together properly. You likely are also aware of your chances (one in 4,298,387 approximately) of completing the task without losing a piece. You take great diligence in placing pieces only to find that, with just a handful of pieces remaining, one piece is missing. At this point you will probably decide that, since it is only a skypiece, it is not important to the picture and therefore you do not need to be concerned about searching for it. Right? UNLIKELY!!

 

  As you appraise the incomplete product, you become uneasy. That missing piece begins to haunt you. You know that if you tried to go to sleep, you would only dream about it. That one stubborn piece can haunt you, laughing at you from its hiding place. As you look at the hole in your puzzle, you try to ignore it, but no—it stands out like a sore thumb. Then you realize that it is not just a sky piece at all, but rather it is a bright, blue and beautiful part of something larger than itself. Actually, it has an intricate place and part in the overall picture. Its beauty is enhanced and complemented by its fellow pieces. IT IS IMPORTANT! Without it the message is lost.

 

  Paul urged his fellow believers to look at Christ's Church in much the same way that we might look at a puzzle. Each individual member is connected with the whole body and is an integral part: "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptised by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many... But God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body... But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honour to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it" (1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 18-20,24-27).

 

  We see here that each member is important. Each member has their place. To understand just where we fit into the New Testament Church, we have to clearly understand what the church is, what its mission is, and where our time and capability can best support its Divine: Purpose. Work. Worship. Worth. While the thought is both humbling and amazing, it is absolutely true that there is a place for each of us in Christ's church. Amen?

 

—David Bragg

    Greensboro NC