On this Sunday, take a moment to think about wherever you live.
On a daily basis, what must be done? For the most part, we each share a long list of those items that universally fall on every one of us to do. Maybe the big three include meals, laundry, and some kind of cleaning. Unless you live in a unique situation, these three responsibilities are true for every one of us in every living situation.
What about a semi-regular basis? Again, depending on where you live and your specific circumstances, our lists typically share a number of items. Yard work. Decorations. Maintenance. Deep cleaning. Household finances or business.
Special projects of various sorts may make up the semi-annual or annual list like organizing the garage, cleaning gutters, or winterizing the house.
What have we forgotten? Oh yeah, we had better add relationships to this already-long list. In every area we have relationships that we must keep up. Just a small list includes those in our immediate residence, at church, at work, in our extended families, and many friends. Each one of us have plenty of relationships for which we care, show concern, and invest.
Depending upon the season, all of these responsibilities and opportunities may weigh quiet heavy and keep us extraordinarily busy. But so is life.
Now Think Briefly about Your Local Church
For a few moments, consider the same kind of list for your local church.
Have you ever considered what must be done on a daily basis? …a semi-regular basis? …semi-annually? …annually? …as special projects?
Just like your household, there are many, many, many responsibilities and opportunities on a regular basis.
In fact, as you walk into church today or participate online, consider everything that was done in order to make your participation in worship possible. Many hands work together to make your worship possible. Just as in our homes, someone has had to work diligently to make your worship today possible. Cleaning. Organizing. Preparing. Set-up. Maintenance. Honestly, this list could be quite long as well.
If you are like the average person, you might participate in church today and never have one thought about all those individuals that make your worship possible. But there are many.
The Body of Christ
The Apostle Paul describes for us the body of Christ. He writes:
12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For in fact the body is not one member but many. …
20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. 23 And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, 24 but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, 25 that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. (1 Cor 12:12-31)
Here, Paul compares the body of Christ with our physical bodies. Although in a similar way, we often do not consider all the areas in our body which make walking, talking, working, or playing possible, those differing parts of our bodies matter for the functioning of the whole. In our physical body, we could not get along without any of these individual parts.
On This Sunday…
On this Sunday, let me encourage you as you either participate in person or online, take a few moments to specifically notice and consider everything that had to be done for you to enjoy your worship. If you volunteer and help make today’s worship possible, consider all those other individuals and what they had to do in order to make your worship better. Perhaps you have not had to do anything in order to make worship possible for the rest of the church today. If that his the case, then please look around and consider what has been done for you by loving and sacrificial people. These individuals love you and are concerned for your worship, your walk with the Lord, and the Gospel itself.
Consider the List Here as Well
The list of items completed to make your worship possible is quite impressive as well. For this morning, potentially it includes cleaning, coffee prep, buying or preparing pastries or donuts, bulletins, music, sound, lighting, lesson preparation, and this list could get long. Please, just take a moment to observe and consider all of these things.
Take a Moment to Be Thankful
As you make these observations, I suggest you take one additional step. Now, take just a moment or two to be thankful for what you notice. Possibly even you can say something to someone serving you. As you get your coffee, remember someone went the extra mile to make that possible. As you walk into a clean restroom, just know that someone made that possible as well. Again, this list could go on and on. If you know who was responsible for those items, just a word of “Thanks” goes a long way.
Therefore, on this Sunday and throughout this week, let’s rejoice together in all those that make our worship and life together in the body of Christ at our local church possible. Then, let’s be grateful together for each other.
Image Credit Luis Quintero
KevinCarson.com | Wisdom for Life in Christ Together
