Reflection: Serving in Unity
Who do I belong to? I can answer that with reference to my key relationships… I belong to my family — my husband and children. As follower of Jesus, who do I belong to? The truth is that we belong not only to God our Father, but to each one another as fellow Christians. Paul teaches that we are to think of ourselves — in Christ — as a body, with each member belonging to all the others. Within this ‘body of Christ’, we are all different — we ‘do not have the same function’. God gives each member different gifts, for different areas of service.
What does this mean for me, as I gather with my fellow believers? It means that I should be working alongside them, offering whatever I have, so that we are working together in unity. Paul encourages the Christians in Rome: ‘Love must be sincere … be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord.’ (Romans 12:9-12). Serving my brothers and sisters in Christ is not really about the roles I fill, ministry rosters or how I fit serving at church in with other commitments in my life. I need to balance those thoughts and the demands in my life with the vital need to sincerely love those I belong to in Christ.
Writing to the Christians in Corinth, Paul talks again about the body of Christ, and how each part has a different function but is essential for the body to function properly. Paul wants the Corinthian Christians to understand that we are not all the same, ‘But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be?’ God has placed each one of us in the body of Christ, and we have a unique service to offer each other. In fact, we need each other, just as an eye needs a hand, or a head needs the feet.
Do you find it hard to serve at your church? How does Paul’s teaching about the body of Christ challenge and encourage you?
Prayer:
Dear Father, thank you for calling me to belong to you, and for giving me a family to belong to. Please help me to sincerely love my brothers and sisters in Christ; to be devoted to them, to honour them. Please renew my zeal and spiritual fervour to serve you, and others. Amen.