So with yourselves; since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.
I Corinthians 14:12
When God creates us, in His image and likeness, He puts a divine imprint on each of our souls. Each of us has a unique fingerprint. And each of us has a unique divine imprint. Each of us has unique talents, personalities, and opportunities. It is interesting in the world that we demand equality while celebrating diversity, and the truth is that neither of these positions is on the mark. We are each of infinite value in the eyes of God, and we are supposed to honor the divine imprint God has stamped on each of our souls. For instance, I don’t “celebrate” my priesthood as much as I try to “honor” it. Same thing with being a parent, or being married. Yes, these are things to celebrate, but we are supposed to honor, respect, even revere them.
On our divine imprint is a unique way that we can build the body of Christ. For some of us, it is obvious. Good singers are drawn to the choir. Teachers are drawn to teach Sunday school. Business and finance people find their way onto the Parish Council. Of course, even in these well intentioned offerings to the church, one can forget about Christ or not think of building up the body of Christ, the Church. When I was a chanter, prior to being ordained, I don’t think I ever thought as I was chanting, that what I was doing might build up the body of Christ, or on the other side, destroy it. I guess the first question to think on today is “do you ever think about the idea of building the body of Christ?”
Many people think of their church like “church for us,” rather than “church for others.” We want a comfortable experience of worship and fellowship for ourselves, but we don’t think of how we might express that to others. Two ministries that are very needed in the church are these: the ministry of maintenance and the ministry of invitation. The “ministry of maintenance” would be paying attention to people who are usually at the church and who disappear for a couple of Sundays. A simple phone call asking how they are doing and telling them you miss them will bring a lot of them back. This insures that the body of Christ does not decrease. The “ministry of invitation” would be inviting someone to church. That’s it, a simple invitation. It’s like when Philip invited Nathanael to “come and see” (John 1:46) who Jesus was. He didn’t invited Nathanael to make a commitment, or be a disciple, or lay down his life for Christ. Nathanael did all those things, inspired by the Holy Spirit. But his journey began with a simple invitation to “come and see.” We should do this in the same spirit. Someone you know who doesn’t have a church home, someone who is going through a difficult time, make a simple invitation to come and see, and the Holy Spirit will do the rest.
Christ Himself wanted leaders in the Church specifically for bringing more people into ministry and serving others so that the entire Body of Christ is unified in the faith. In Ephesians 4:11-13, we read, And His gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. The goal is unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God, this is the goal for every person. This is the goal of the Church, to bring Christ to others and to bring others to Christ, and everyone has a way that they can contribute to that.
In Matthew 16:18-19, Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter and tells him, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the powers of death (gates of hell) shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” What a beautiful reassurance that even the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. The church has survived periods of persecution where it teetered on extinction but the light of Christ has never gone out. Jesus’ words in Matthew 16 assure us of this. When people invest in a business or in the stock market, there is always a risk of losing our entire investments. This is not so in the church. Jesus assures us that to invest in the Body of Christ will never result in failure. And He has given each of us a way to put ourselves into the Body of Christ, not only as members, but as helpers and recruiters.
Blessed is he who considers the poor! The Lord delivers him in the day of trouble; the Lord protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; Thou dost not give him up to the will of his enemies. The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness Thou healest all his infirmities. As for me, I said, “Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against Three!” My enemies say of me in malice: “When will he die, and his name perish?” And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers mischief; when he goes out, he tells is abroad. All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worse for me. They say, “A deadly thing has fastened upon him; he will not rise again from where he lies.” Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted his heel against me. Bot do Thou, O Lord, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may requite them! By this I know that Thou art pleased with me, in that my enemy has not triumphed over me. But Thou hast upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in Thy presence forever. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen. Psalm 41
Question to ponder: What gifts, talents, abilities and passions do you bring to help grow the Body of Christ?
