Devotions

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (I Corinthians 12:27 ESV)

I have a free membership to a health club. With the free membership comes the responsibility of actually using its facilities. I don’t want to lose the membership, so I show up once in a while, get a smoothie at the health bar, then go home. I enjoy the fact of my membership but don’t participate in how health clubs are supposed to function. Something is missing.

I can’t help thinking of the church and what it means to belong to the body of Christ. We have been given free access to the redemptive power of Christ in our lives. Often, we acknowledge having been given this amazing gift without accepting that there is meant to be more. We are chosen, marked with the cross of Christ forever. Everyone who has been chosen is also commissioned to spread the news of what God has done on our behalf. ( See Matthew 28:16-20.) That includes more than just the paid professionals. 

I need the help of friends to move me past the smoothies and into the gym at the health club. We need to help each other in knowing that we all have a part in this amazing calling as a church to be more than recipients. We are called to receive the free gift of grace and to share it. This is what is meant when we talk about discipleship. Let’s encourage each other to use our free gifts the way they are meant to be used.