18And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.19For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,20and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
My goodness - in Jesus the fulness of God dwells. And, He is able to inhabit our hearts through His Holy Spirit. We are called "partakers of the divine nature," so we can know that He lives in us. As we realize that we each are connected to the head of the body, then we can also see that we have a unique connection with one another, to bring honor to Him by our obedience, to see Him work powerfully in our lives in order to accomplish His purposes. The church can be a powerful force, but if we allow selfishness and division to rule in our lives, then we shortcircuit the work that He desires to do.
In 1st Corinthians 3, we gain some insight into how the body of Christ, working together as God orchestrates, can make a powerful impact in the lives of people, as the Lord does the work:
5Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?6I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.7So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.8Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.9For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building.
In Australia recently, a man was boarding a train bound for Perth about 8:50 one morning when he slipped and became stuck, according to a report on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation website.
Transperth spokesman David Hynes said the man was boarding at the tail end of peak hour, but the train was still fairly busy. Hynes said that, "He stood in the doorway and as he was sort of taking up his position there, one leg slipped outside the door, slipped outside the gap, and he was stuck." He added, "We alerted the driver, made sure the train didn't move."
Hynes continued the story: "Then our staff who were there at the time got the passengers, and there were lots of them, off the train, and organised them to sort of rock, tilt the train backwards away from the platform so they were able to get him out and rescue him."
An ambulance was called but the man was not taken to a hospital. It is believed he did not sustain serious injuries.
Hynes praised the actions of staff and passengers who assisted in freeing the man. He said, "Everyone sort of pitched in," adding, "It was people power that saved someone from possibly quite serious injury."
It's a great picture, isn't it? A person becomes trapped and others surround him to set him free. In this case, people power made the difference. Spiritually speaking, the power of God through His people can make a huge difference in setting free those who are trapped.
Let's pause for a moment to consider several things. I think the fact that it took multiple people to rock this train car in order to free the man's leg reminds us that we are the body of Christ and can accomplish great things together. Sometimes one person, in partnership with the Holy Spirit, can be instrumental in helping someone out of a situation in which they are trapped, perhaps leading them to the Lord. But, in many cases, I would say that multiple people can be used to perform a rescue. I think of that example that Paul used about different people planting and watering, but God giving the increase. We can recognize that God is at work through His people and will strategically place people in position to minister His truth and love at a particular time and place.
It took passengers and staff to rock this train. You know, if you have a group of people with a common goal and a desire to set people free, lives can certainly be changed. The body of Christ can be a tangible force in this world, as we are infused by the power of God and interested in the needs of others. Then, we can be influential in changing people's hearts and lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment