December 29, 1998
Rheumatoid arthritis and AIDS are quite different disorders but both are related to the auto-immune system. In RA, the body becomes confused and attacks its own joint fluid as an enemy. Without lubrication, bones grind and wear against each other causing pain and disability.
In AIDS, the auto-immune system is not confused; it just quits. The body loses its capacity to fight external enemies and dies from illnesses such as pneumonia.
While the human body is an amazing organism, these two conditions illustrate how one part working contrary to its intended purpose produces painful and even deadly results.
The New Testament uses the human body as a metaphor for spiritual unity. Those who believe in Christ should function together, just as the parts of our body should.
For instance, the Apostle Paul talks about spiritual gifts by pointing out that each believer has a different gift, just as each part of the body has a different job to do. The eye is not the hand and the hand is not the eye. Each needs the other so all can function.
As a body has many members so it can work properly, so does the Body of Christ. This analogy helps Christians appreciate both our oneness and our differences. It also illustrates the importance of working together. When each part of a healthy body cooperates, that body is strong and productive. The Bible says, “From Christ the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and build itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
However, this analogy also can describe what happens when Christians set themselves against one another. If we do not appreciate our differences, reject unity and refuse to cooperate, we are like a malfunctioning auto-immune system. The results are just as disastrous.
In love, we function like healthy bones and ligaments but if we do not keep ourselves in right relationships with mutual support and instead begin fighting, we are like rheumatoid arthritis. We are destroying necessary “lubrication” and begin to wear and grate against each other.
Loving one another is vital, not only to our health but to our appearance. Jesus said the world will evaluate us by our love (or lack of it) for one another. If the Body of Christ malfunctions, we experience personal and corporate pain and become crippled, even totally disabled, in our ministry to others. Besides, the Bible says if one member hurts, all hurt. In-fighting is like shooting ourselves in the foot.
A malfunctioning Body of Christians has another problem suggested by the analogy and how a human body suffers if it has AIDS. Spiritually, the Bible is clear that the Christian struggle “is not against flesh and blood” but is against “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” When we pit ourselves against each other, we become helpless against external enemies. Satan and the powers of evil can easily defeat us.
Paul wrote that if we “yield to God and resist the devil, he will flee” from us. Notice what comes first: yielding to God. The Bible defines that simply as loving Him and loving one another. Jesus said that we show our love for God by loving other Christians.
Everyone wants a healthy body. We do what we can with rest, proper diet, exercise and regular care. In fact, these exercises occupy a major portion of our lives. What a difference it would make if we gave as much attention and effort toward maintaining health in the Body of Christ.
Showing posts with label fighting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fighting. Show all posts
Friday, August 4, 2017
Monday, August 10, 2015
Creating Unity ................ Parables 311
March 31, 1992
A Moose Jaw journalist recently noted that two-dollar wheat prices have bridged the generation gap between old and young farmers. Now they are all in the same boat and have something to talk about.
There are certain situations in life that tend to do just that — bring people together. One of them is a mutual problem, in this case the struggle to survive in a profession threatened by European grain subsidies, something neither young or old can do anything about.
Other situations that brings people together are happy events and sad events: weddings, births, graduations and funerals, recovery and illness, sunshine and tornadoes. National celebrations can do it too: Christmas, Easter, even Canada Day.
As humans, we tend to need something to push us into harmony. Fighting is easier, especially if the other person is different in some way than we are, a threat to us. Older people get pushed out by up-and-coming youth; young people feel intimidated by the confidence of the experienced. Men feel put-down by women; women feel put-down by men. Children are ostracized by each other on the playgrounds and in the classroom. Conflict is so common. Unity does not happen as easily.
In spite of how we can argue and drive wedges through the heart of our relationships, God intended people relate to one another harmoniously. He desires unity, a we are in this together attitude that shows itself in the way we treat one another.
However, while outside events can serve as a catalyst, the unity God has in mind is not one forced by externals. Rather, because we are made in His image, He wants us to reflect the unity He Himself experiences in His own nature. He is a God of various attributes and distinctive qualities (just as we are a variety of people) yet He is in complete harmony with Himself, all the time, no matter what is happening in His world. Furthermore, His unity is as much a part of His nature as our propensity to fight and disagree is a part of ours.
The Bible has a lot to say about that kind of unity: it is commanded; Jesus prayed that we would have it and He even provided it — but it certainly does not happen without our resistance. Doesn’t resistance seem strange, given the pleasure and security we enjoy when we have peace with other people?
Perhaps we do not fight unity directly but indirectly. Remember, it is a unity that does not depend on externals. Instead, it depends on the internal reality of His Spirit in control of our lives. It is that control that we fight, just as we resist attempts by anyone or anything else to control us.
The possibility of this unity is not the only appeal for non-resistance to God but it is a valid appeal. Without His unity, Paul says, “You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?”
If Christians depend on externals for agreement, then we are acting like everyone else and simply denying the power of God to bring unity. When that happens, then calamities like $2 wheat prices are the only forces that can bring us together.
A Moose Jaw journalist recently noted that two-dollar wheat prices have bridged the generation gap between old and young farmers. Now they are all in the same boat and have something to talk about.
There are certain situations in life that tend to do just that — bring people together. One of them is a mutual problem, in this case the struggle to survive in a profession threatened by European grain subsidies, something neither young or old can do anything about.
Other situations that brings people together are happy events and sad events: weddings, births, graduations and funerals, recovery and illness, sunshine and tornadoes. National celebrations can do it too: Christmas, Easter, even Canada Day.
As humans, we tend to need something to push us into harmony. Fighting is easier, especially if the other person is different in some way than we are, a threat to us. Older people get pushed out by up-and-coming youth; young people feel intimidated by the confidence of the experienced. Men feel put-down by women; women feel put-down by men. Children are ostracized by each other on the playgrounds and in the classroom. Conflict is so common. Unity does not happen as easily.
In spite of how we can argue and drive wedges through the heart of our relationships, God intended people relate to one another harmoniously. He desires unity, a we are in this together attitude that shows itself in the way we treat one another.
However, while outside events can serve as a catalyst, the unity God has in mind is not one forced by externals. Rather, because we are made in His image, He wants us to reflect the unity He Himself experiences in His own nature. He is a God of various attributes and distinctive qualities (just as we are a variety of people) yet He is in complete harmony with Himself, all the time, no matter what is happening in His world. Furthermore, His unity is as much a part of His nature as our propensity to fight and disagree is a part of ours.
The Bible has a lot to say about that kind of unity: it is commanded; Jesus prayed that we would have it and He even provided it — but it certainly does not happen without our resistance. Doesn’t resistance seem strange, given the pleasure and security we enjoy when we have peace with other people?
Perhaps we do not fight unity directly but indirectly. Remember, it is a unity that does not depend on externals. Instead, it depends on the internal reality of His Spirit in control of our lives. It is that control that we fight, just as we resist attempts by anyone or anything else to control us.
The possibility of this unity is not the only appeal for non-resistance to God but it is a valid appeal. Without His unity, Paul says, “You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?”
If Christians depend on externals for agreement, then we are acting like everyone else and simply denying the power of God to bring unity. When that happens, then calamities like $2 wheat prices are the only forces that can bring us together.
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