We live in a day when man glories in man. Man glories in his might, his power, his riches, in numbers, and in that which is approved of by man. But the Lord’s work operates differently: “That no flesh should glory in his presence.” 1 Corinthians 1:29
When it comes time that we are sensitive to our fleshly wants for recognition, Satan tempts us to think the church fails to hold us to be as important as we are. But when it comes time that we neglect God’s work to do our own thing, Satan tempts us to think what we fail to be or do isn’t really that important in or to the church.
But the truth is, the local New Testament Church is a Body, the Body of Christ, and what one member does or does not do, affects the entire Body. The power of one is clearly seen in a Body. If each member fulfills their function, fine. But if one member is injured or fails, the whole Body is affected.
The witness and testimony of the Church rests with each member. People view the church through what its members are or are not. Each member is the only Christian that someone has in view. They either see Christ living within us, or they see a profession of faith without works, which is dead.
Lost people are not won to the Lord because they are looking at the overall scope of the Church. They are reached through the testimony of the individual members. The Philippian jailor was drawn to Christ through the unwavering faithfulness of Paul and Silas (having seen the genuineness of their faith in a time of crisis,) and not by looking at some grand church there at Philippi (the church wasn’t in existence there yet.)
Let us remember that each member makes or breaks the success of the Body. “What would my church be if every member was just like me?”
There is nothing to be gained for a Christian to forsake the Lord’s Church, or their faithfulness to God’s work. The law of sowing and reaping comes into effect, determining the result of all that we do: “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” (Galatians 6:7) The only way to change what we are reaping, is to change what we are sowing.
CHRISTIAN, WHAT ARE YOU SOWING?
SHARING
