...from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
We gathered together Sunday night to have our annual discussion about CC Mansfield- past, present, and future. One of the key thoughts for the night revolved around the idea from the above verse, "knit together". What does it mean to be knit together, and how does that look practically?
We spoke about the knitting together of a body and how that body functions best and is most fruitful when it is joined together. My Achilles Tendon injury was brought up as example of what happens when a body is not joined together. My tendon no longer knit my calf muscle with my foot which resulted in pain, inability to walk, and hindered my entire body. A telling picture of a church that is made up of individuals who are not knit together in Christ. The Church is The vehicle that God wants to use in a community. The local church has such potential as we hold to the Word of God in the anointing of the Holy Spirit. God desires to move through His body- the Church, but if we are not knit together, we end up like I have been these past two weeks- desiring to be used by the Lord, but actually sitting on the sofa watching reruns of college basketball waiting for my body to be knit together again.
The thought of being knit together means something different
practically to each of us. For my life, it means that I focus most of my energy, time, thoughts, and prayers here in this body and less in other good ministries or necessary Christian activities that do not directly affect the body of Christ here in Nottinghamshire.
What does it mean to you? Are there activities, ministries, meetings that you are invovled in that are quite possibly good, necessary, and even beneficial, yet somehow you don't have time to connect with the body of Christ that God has called you to love and serve? Perhaps this is why the church makes little impact in communities up and down the country. Activity is not usually the problem in a Christian's life, but perhaps we all give a little to a lot instead of a lot to a little.
What does it look like when a church is knit together? The church in Jerusalem, described in Acts 2, exampled this for us. They simply met together daily in the temple and in homes, continued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrice, broke bread together, shared fellowship, and prayed. It was as they remained faithful to the basics that God added daily to the church those that were being saving. Perhaps we need to focus on these simple fundamentals of faith, and trust the Lord to bring the increase through the witness of a local church made up of individuals who love each other, love being with each other, and love to serve one another. I think this kind of Church would again see God add daily to the church those who are being saved.
