Days

We've seen dark days
and we've seen bright ones.
Some days we say welcome
and sometimes we say goodbye.

Even though we walk through
the valley of the shadow
we're always in the light of His grace.

We have seen Him work
and He will.
And he works for the good
of all those who love Him.

In this I am confident
In this I have hope.
In this I have comfort.

Because we've seen
so many days.

We are the Body of Christ.

Well...here's a religious thought again. You can elaborate on your own because my last one sort of got long winded, but I still hope that it was worth the read for those who read it. That is why we write right? We don't have to have something incredibly profound to say to be read, enjoyed and interacted with. It's why we join up on blog sites and Facebook etc. It's why we talk on the phone and write letters too. I'm not complaining at all, but it does lead to my point.

The Church as a whole has made such a big deal about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We've become individual Christians who have individual stories. But I think it's also led many Christians to claim that they came to Christ in their own very personal, individual way. Many of us have a difficult time moving beyond our own "personal relationship" with Jesus Christ. This personal relationship has allowed us to find and relate to Christ in our own ways, our own methods, using our own ideas. Our own style of relating to Christ allows us, maybe Americans and Western Europeans and Australians in particular, to remain individualists. It allows Christians to have troubles and not talk about them because "it's just between me and God." It allows us to have "God moments" kept personal because "It was a moment between me and God."

I don't mean to suggest that our experience with God isn't very personal to us. But I believe that God's Word says that our relationship is a communal relationship. God says that there aren't many ways to come to Christ...God calls us to Himself through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ...that's it. He is the way, the truth and the Life. Even though we are all different parts of the body (I am the hand, you are the foot, someone else is the neck etc.), each body part exists in community with the rest of the body. The heart, the brain, the kidney, the hand and the ear cannot work without the rest of the body, period. You were never intended to be personal or separate from God or the rest of the Body. We are all the Bride of Christ...not Brides of Christ. God calls us His people as a body, a community of believers, a single unit...supporting, unifying and loving one another. There are so many Scriptures I could use to prove this to you...I think you know me well enough by now to know the truth of that statement.

I encourage you as a body that if your church seems to be acting as a congregation of many individuals, encourage them to be as one...God never intended anything different. I think my cousins Jeff and Jayne, and little Dalaynee, and the whole family of those who have surrounded eachother through crisis get the meaning of community. My family, my friends and Monique and I have experienced the power of a communal relationship with God. I think we can all find God's Word to a time in our lives when Christianity meant community. Listen to the song by Casting Crowns called "If We are the Body." It's one place you can learn about the principle of community.

SO I'll go back to the beginning. I don't mind that you don't comment on my blogs and I love it when you do. I encourage you to challenge yourself on some hard reading and enjoy some light reading. I want you to participate with me and I want to learn how to better participate with you. It seems that this is not only what Jesus would do...but what He is doing.