"For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another." (Romans:12:3-5) As I read this passage, I began to think about how this is lived out in the church. The rest of the passage lists specifics and is a mandatory life checklist for believers to evaluate how we are fleshing out in the body. There are so many evaluations to be made, and it can become overwhelming to reflect. But the believer must continually call to mind that this is the work of the Holy Spirit and He will perform all that is necessary to keep us "fit".
One thought that came to mind as I read today was how completely necessary we are to each other in the body of Christ, the church. As sin affects each of us personally and fighting it is an ongoing process, so our commitment to the church we have become a part. Like a disease, sin can make us useless as believers in a needy world if we aren't personally responsible to our commitment to "take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ." As John Owen stated, "We must be killing sin or sin will be killing us." In the same vein, our commitment to our church is one we must take seriously. If we aren't being used in our church, we are useless. And like a disease, we too, can cause much wear and tear on the the "working body".
That part of the church body who "do all the work"can definitely experience burn-out. It has been said that 20% of the members of a church do 80% of the work. This, of course, should not be the case. And if it were a business, there would most certainly be a mass lay-off. As Christians and members of a body of believers, we need to support each other. If not, we can expect a dragging, frazzled, and sick body that is not able to meet the needs a church should be providing. We must not allow ourselves to become diseases that affect the body to poor health. We must keep ourselves strong in our personal walk and thereby, become a part of the health of the body to enable it to perform the best work in life: living to the glory of God and speaking Him into a needy world.
Are we diseases or cures? God enables us to promote the health needed in our churches. Let us be committed to seek Him passionately for that power. The life of the church is dependent on each member. And each member is dependent on Him to keep us healthy Christians. And the "workers", must strive to do the same "not thinking more highly of himself than he ought to think" but to be just as committed to serve as Christ served us giving up Himself as the ultimate sacrifice for the disease of sin.
