No one person can know everything that is going on in the lives of everyone in a church. In any given week our sisters and brothers will face overwhelming trials, tremendous joys, crippling temptations, frustrating disappointments, and unbelievable pain. Some people are plugged into some people’s lives while others are plugged into others. We would never imagine one person knowing what is going on in the lives of the wide spectrum of even a small congregation like Calvary.

The entire body intimately concerned about, connected to, and engaged with each other is God’s design for His body. Think about it the way Paul wrote about it,

“…Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:15-16)

We are the “every joint” that Paul is talking about that holds the body together. Individually we are the ligaments that God has so sovereignly supplied to keep the body from falling apart, and when we are held together as God has equipped us then we are “working properly” together. We are like a well-oiled machine. But we are more, because we are a living organism that bumps into each other, gets in one another’s way, holds hands, puts arms around, hugs, and touches one another in all kinds of life-changing ways – that, to me, is “working properly.” It may not all be pretty at times, but it does mean we are together trying to work out how we fit together as God designed us.

The result is growth through love. Primarily Paul is talking about the spiritual growing we go through as a church. Working properly together results in taking steps in the right direction spiritually. But I truly believe that a church that operates like this will grow numerically as well. People of all walks of life want to be a part of a body that is working properly together in love. They are not looking for a perfect body; they are looking for a loving body.

We are not alone stranded on a desert island, slugging out our daily existence hoping help will randomly fly by some day. That is a miserable existence. But I wonder how many people feel that way in a typical church…at Calvary?

I do believe God has gifted our little body of believers with a spirit of genuine, loving care for one another. You love well! But I want to challenge all of us as we grow to make sure we don’t fall into the trap of believing somebody else will love the new person. Remember, new people are so easy to love because they come in with a clean slate; they have a clean plate that needs to be filled by someone serving them in love.

Keep Loving Well,