Unity in the Body

A month or so back, I began to wonder what life would be like if we greeted and closed conversations how Paul started and ended every one of his letters. As Christians, don’t we have a responsibility to encourage, pray for, and build up the body of Christ in a healthy way?

Yes, I understand that there are many different ways to do this. But when I start a conversation with “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” (Philippians 1:2), I have a really hard time not to encourage and help the body of Christ.

As someone who has a hard time looking at people the way Christ sees them, it is really hard to begin a conversation, letter, or other various forms of communication with that line or one like it. If I spent even half of the time in my life loving the body of Christ as I do attempting to tear it down, I cannot imagine the way Abba would bless that.

Another way that I look at it is we are tearing down His Son. Woah… the body of Christ. (1 Cor. 12:27). When we do not exemplify the body of Christ described in 1 Corinthians 12, we ARE tearing down what Abba, Father has established.

Hold the phone. Did I just say that we are tearing down the body of Christ? Uh, yeah, I did. From my scriptural research and what I have found, that is exactly what I am saying.

We must build up the body of Christ, not tear it down. Judgment from someone other than God, malice against other believers, and lack of encouragement and accountability is tearing down the body of Christ. As believers we MUST spread the gospel as a WHOLE and nothing but. We MUST be unified in our differences.

Now, when I hear or read something like this, I try to find loop holes. Well, let’s define unity via Google.

u·ni·ty

noun /ˈyo͞onətē/  unities, plural 1. The state of being united or joined as a whole, esp. in a political context § - European unity § - economic unity 2. Harmony or agreement between people or groups § - their leaders called for unity between opposing factions 3. The state of forming a complete and pleasing whole, esp. in an artistic context § - the repeated phrase gives the piece unity and cohesion 4. A thing forming a complex whole § - they speak of the three parts as a unity 5. In Aristotle's Poetics, each of the three dramatic principles requiring limitation of the supposed time of a drama to that occupied in acting it or to a single day (unity of time), use of one scene throughout (unity of place), and concentration on the development of a single plot (unity of action) 6. The number one

Ok, so I really like the second and fourth definitions. As the body of Christ, we must be in harmony and form a whole. Woah, I don’t do that. Rarely ever and almost never do I do that.

If we became what is described as the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians, lots of crazy awesome stuff would happen for the glory of the LORD.

So, when was the last time you (and this is directed to myself as well) began a conversation or ended a conversation with a fellow believer with “may the grace of the Father be with you?” Well, I know that was, uh, almost never for me. I attempt to write it in emails, facebook messages, encouragement cards, and recently, blog posts, but honestly, I think I have done it once in an actual conversation.

So my challenge to you (and myself) is to in the next few days start or end a conversation with a fellow believer with Romans 16:24, 1 Corinthians 1:3, or even Ephesians 6:23-24. I guarantee it will be REALLY hard to not build up the body of Christ when you do it. If you have any other suggestions, facebook me, mention it on twitter (@meghanc1229), send me a carrier pigeon, owl, or a various other form of communication such as smoke signals or Morse code. (With the last two, I probably won’t be able to understand it, but that is up to you) Oh, you can talk to me in person too. I love talking about my Abba with other believers!

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.-Philippians 4:23

Meghan