Are You Connected?
In the latest National Geographic there is a great article about the brain and how it functions. There was a 1ot of technical data in there about dendrites, synapse function, and mapping. In the end, I was amazed at the creation that is between my ears. They talked a lot about the connections between various parts of our brain and the nerve channels that create our memories and how we think. This set me off on a rabbit trail where Pau writes that Christ Jesus is our head and we are His Body (Eph. 5:22-33). If we are His body then He should be doing all the thinking and we should be doing the doing. Ya think?
In 1 Corinthians Paul says there that we are the temple (literally the holy of holies) where God dwells. Now, in chapter 3 verse 16 the 'you' is plural. So, it should read "don't ya'll know that ya'll are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in ya'll." That is the southern version but you get the drift.
To me that is amazing because (at least in my church) there are some real misfits and characters. We have so many problems in the church herein prison that I think God is going to rewrite Revelation and add us as an eighth church at the end of chapter three. The thing is that when we come together and worship, minister the Word, and fellowship, God is dwelling in His church. He does that in your church also. He chooses to dwell in the place where believers come together and worship Him.
How does all of that work? I do not have all of the answers. I would say this though. God says that He comes and dwells (kicks it) wherever the church gathers together. Somehow that Holy Spirit functions in a 'greater' fashion than when the members are apart. Somehow the Father expresses Himself in a more direct way when He is enthroned in a place where they exalt His Son Jesus. The only reason that I know this is because that is what the Word of God says and I have seen it happen. Do I understand it fully? Nope. It is still true.
You may say, "but I don't fit in" or "I do not know my function” or "why should I go?" I can only say that you will fit in because you have the Spirit of God inside you (if you are born again) and you will not find your function until you go and find out where you can minister. If you are asking "why" you already know: Because God told you to and that is where the Body of Jesus fits together to minister to itself. If you have one gift (or ten) and you do not go to the services then two things are happening. First you are robbing God's people of the gifting that He has given you for the ministry to His people. Secondly you are missing out because lack gifts that other believers have and that you need to be built up in Christ.
There are instances where people can't go to the services because of illness or debilitation. In those cases we should be reaching out to them. From the Head to the rest of the Body there are more nerves sending messages in nanoseconds than we can count. Everything from breathing to blinking comes from a connection to the Head. The thing is that the Head sends the message and expects the Body to react in a certain way. When the Body does not react a diseased condition.
What would happen if part of your body was cut off? Without artificial stimulation it would start to decompose. Life would cease in that piece of you because it is cut off from the rest of the body. A connected piece of your body functions the way that it was designed and a disconnected piece does not. Can I be bold enough to say that it is the same way in the church? Perhaps you are connected but there is someone you know that is not. Reach out to them.
We need to be connected. It truly is a matter of life.