Over the last few weeks, Mae and I have been meeting with a young woman to discuss church membership. It is always exciting for me when somebody says he/she desires to be a member of the church. This is not simply so I can boast about having a growing number of members, but because it means the individual wants to be more deeply involved in serving the Lord. But being a church member means even more than that.
I noticed that I was all out of church membership certificates, so I ordered some new ones. Printed across the bottom of the certificates is Romans 12:5: So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. The last part is what stuck out to me as I considered the verse. I think many Christians can get caught up in discovering and using their gifts in order to function for the Lord, but they may neglect that second part, the part about being “members one of another.” As a church, we do exist to serve Christ as He leads, but we are also called to serve one another. In today’s culture, it is easier than ever to isolate ourselves, but that is not how we should live as members of the body of Christ. We are connected through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, so let us continue to seek to build up one another in love.
Blessings,
Pastor Zach