Devotional Sharing Submitted by Pastor Jonathan Lee, Gracepoint Davis.

Reflect on the fact that individual Christians are called to unite to form the body of Christ—i.e., to be Christ to the world today.  What is the personal implication of this for every Christian in terms of his view of himself, how he makes decisions about his life, and how he regards other believers God has placed in the church with him?

One personal implication of a Christian in terms of his view of self is to see self as having significance and worth but all of which are unearned and undeserved.  We are important not because of what we have done to deserve it, but because of God’s generous mercy in blessing us with salvation that allows us to be a part of Christ’s body.  This passage also gives a clear understanding of purpose for one’s existence that goes beyond self-seeking goals—God has brought us together for His purpose to declare the wonders of God (per previous DT’s).  This passage (12:11, 18, 24, 28) reminds us that it is God who gave, arranged, combined, and appointed.  And God gave specifically according to His plan and purpose.  So one implication is that no Christian can have a self-pity party and low self-worth/esteem in view of the body of Christ.

In terms of making decisions about his life, this implies that a Christian should not decide in isolation with just personal goals and plans in mind, but rather, decisions should include the body of Christ.  As a Christian, I am a part of a body of Christ and so I need to think carefully about how my decisions, choices, words, and actions would affect the body of Christ.  When I became a husband, I no longer could do things just based on what I wanted because I was relationally connected to my wife and my decisions would have bearing on her.  And in similar fashion, when I became a Christian, I became connected to the members of the body of Christ and so I must think about the ramifications to the larger body.  I am reminded of the excerpt that we read a while back from Dr. Joe Hellerman’s book,  When the Church was a Family (http://gracepointreadings.org/2010/03/excerpt-when-the-church-was-a-family) where the chapter dealt with how based on historical research on the early church, members of the church ought to make decisions based on commitments to God’s Family first.  This is such a radical paradigm shift for those in the 21st century who are so individualistic but this passage in 1 Corinthians remind us of God’s radical and refreshing plan for the church.

The Christian’s view of other believers God has placed in the church with him should not be one of comparison or competitiveness but rather, should be one of giving and receiving help as members of one body.  Tonight, brothers from Davis will go down to Berkeley to join the special time together.  (Sisters will have their own special time together as well.)  Even in making this happen, there are a lot of members of the body gifted with different talents and functions so that we might experience the strengthening and encouraging that we’re sure to happen tonight.  My best friend Tony is handling all the coordination and logistics for 500+ men!  Matthew is going to make the delicious dinner happen one way or another.  Tech guys will set up all the equipment without which there will only be the sound of silence.    The video crew, the RSF team, the IGSM/Praxis VSM/ECM brothers for the takedown, the testimonies shared, Pastor Ed giving the message, and so many more precious brothers doing as God has appointed.  What a wonderful picture of the body of Christ coming together!  I’m so grateful for all of them and it spurs me on to give even more to the work of the body of Christ, the church!

Acts 4:36-5:4

It seems clear that not everyone did as Barnabas did.  What would have been a healthy way to respond to his act of radical generosity on the part of someone in the church who was not as generous as Barnabas?

What Joseph of Cyprus did was different, and that is probably why the apostles would give him a special name to him like “Barnabas” – “Son of Encouragement.”  A healthy way to respond to his act of radical generosity by those who were not as generous would have been to simply, and humbly, strive to learn and imitate his example.

However, unfortunately, not only in Barnabas’ days, but even in current days, when people see radical acts of service to God among Christians – in areas of financial generosity, completely sold out devotion to His work and His church, love and care for each other – people (including sometimes other Christians) do not have a healthy response.  In fact, many people criticize saying that it is too much and that the devotion to God and declare that such acts of generosity and sacrifice is (ironically!) unhealthy.

In deciding to deceive the church, what was Ananias and Sapphira’s approach to church life, and their view of the church?

In deciding to deceive the church, Ananias and Sapphira approached the church as a “marketplace”, like in John 2, where people were buying and selling goods.  For Ananias and Sapphira, their currency of this “marketplace” was respect and esteem in the eyes of the believers which was gained illegitimately.

The tragedy of all this is that they didn’t have to lie about the money that they kept in the first place.  They were already generous in what they did give, and it wasn’t like God would not accept any money unless the whole thing from sales of the land came to him, as it states in 2 Cor. 8:12:  “For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.”  Even as Apostle Peter would say, “Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold?  And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal?”  (Acts 5:4)  For them to sell the land was of their own initiative, and for them to keep the money was also their own initiative.  The problem was, they didn’t want to look like they were less generous than Barnabas.  They could have simply and humbly said, “We are not like Barnabas, although we sold the land, we don’t think we can donate the whole proceeds from it.  But we would like to still give what we can according to our current measure of faith.”

But the problem was that they chose to deceive people, and in the process, it exposed some detrimental things regarding their view of the church:

The church is just a “marketplace” and in a marketplace, you do whatever you can to have people “buy your goods”, even if it’s through deceitful means by making them think that what they are buying is more than what it actually is. They were treating church not as the holy temple of the living God, but as a place to gain something for themselves, and by using illegitimate and deceitful means.  They made people in the church “buy into” where they were spiritually, which was a fabrication and a lie.

It’s all about people and appearances, what they buy into about you, and not the truth – in the process, they ignored the presence of the Holy and living God, who cannot be lied to.  “You have not lied to men but to God.”  (Acts 5:4)

The church is a means to an end. And that end, which should have been to glorify Christ, was not their end.  Their end was to gain respect and esteem of people and create a false image of themselves to others.  It was to probably gain a legitimate and active participation in such a dynamic community without really giving their all as others were freely doing in selling their goods and possessions and sharing with one another.  They found that kind of commitment beyond their ability and desires, but still wanted to “fit in” and be seen as a part of this kind of dynamic community’s inner circle, so they chose to use deceitful means.

What lesson is there in this text about the qualities needed to enjoy the blessing of a genuine Christian community?

The biggest qualities that stand out to me regarding what I personally need to have in myself to enjoy the blessing of a genuine Christian community is honesty and humility.  Honesty to say where I am exactly in my relationship with God and in my faith, and the humility to accept that this before others and myself that this is where I am, and being to acknowledge that others are more mature, more dedicated, and more able to serve than I am.

Ephesians 4:11-13 “ ¹¹ It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ¹² to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

I think about my own life and how for the first several years, I was miserable in this body of Christ because I wasn’t humble and honest.  I was, like the Korean proverb says, “A mouse starving in a rice barn”.  Here I was, surrounded by the blessings of a genuine Christian community, but I couldn’t enjoy it because I was so filled with jealousy and envy towards others’ gifts and faith.  Meanwhile, my pride prevented me from humbly accepting where I was and just acknowledging this is where I was in relation to others.  Therefore, I couldn’t freely accept or enjoy people’s love or my place in this body of Christ.  It was only when I was finally humbled before God’s truth that I was able to finally say that I am just so thankful to be part of God’s family despite the wretched sinner that I am.  My confession became like that of the Psalmist in Psalm 84:10

Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

What did the early church prioritize? The early church prioritized “the apostles’ teaching, and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”  In sum, they prioritized studying God’s Word, praying and building genuine relationship with other believers.

• What was their schedule? Daily they met together in the temple courts and ate together in their homes.
• How did they relate to one another? They related to one another as family members would:  they were together, had everything in common, shared everything they had, met the needs of others by selling their possessions and goods because no one was possessive about their possessions.  This was all possible because they were one in heart and mind.
• What words in the text describe the feel of the culture of the early church? The following words describe the feel of the culture of the early church:  devoted, together, every day, broke bread in their homes, one in heart and mind, shared everything, no needy person among them, filled with awe, with great power, much grace.
• What must it have been like to be a member of this church? As a member of the early church, they were always together and took ownership over other people’s lives. There was daily gathering to hear the Apostles’ teaching and daily sharing of meals with one another.  Everyone’s life must have been wide open in order for people to know the needs of one another.  Each member claimed other member’s life.  They shared everything.  Sharing is only possible when there is genuine love and when someone takes ownership of someone’s life.
• What aspects of belonging to such a community would have been difficult for some people, and why? By belonging to such a community, the following aspects would have been difficult for some people:

• Lack of privacy/personal space:  “all the believers were together”
• No room for personal preferences:  “had everything in common”
• No room for possessiveness or selfishness:  “no one claimed that any of this possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had”
• No room for straddling the fence between the world and the church:  “all the believers were one in heart and mind”; “they devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

For anyone who had a grip on desire for privacy/personal space, personal preferences, or possessiveness, he/she would have had a difficult time where individualistic wants cannot coexist with communal demands to build a genuine community.  A person not being one in heart and mind but desiring the benefits of the community would also have a really difficult time belonging to such a community.  That person would not understand why he/she had to live like that and would consider personal sacrifices too big of a price to pay by not understanding why God desires for us to live in a community.

• Consider Acts 2:47 along with this passage from Deuteronomy from a previous DT text:

Deuteronomy 4:5–6

⁵ See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. ⁶ Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

What is the role of a properly functioning Christian community in God’s salvation plan for mankind? The role of a properly functioning Christian community is to showcase how great our God is through the way we live out our lives in obedience to God’s laws, principles & values and to win the favor of “all the people” or nations as they recognize that God’s way of life is the wisest and the only way to live.  The Christian community must function like a magnet to the world by drawing their interest and curiosity by the radically different way that we live as we adhere to God’s laws and values.

Application

How does today’s text apply to you?

Through today’s devotion text, I recommit myself before God to build “Acts 2” church at Davis as I live out a life of obedience and sacrifice.  The church is God’s idea and design for salvation plan.  We are not just born into a spiritual life but born into the church where God will use the members of the body to be nurtured, loved, trained in righteousness and holiness, and equipped to do God’s good work.  God’s salvation plan for mankind is to use the church, the believers as one body, to bring the message of the gospel to the world.  As the world sees the Christian community living so drastically different from this world, they will recognize the source of such power–God Himself.

The word “together” captivates my heart from Acts 2 and the phrase “one in heart and mind” from Acts 4.  I am designed by God to do life “together” with my fellow believers on a daily basis as we become “one in heart and mind” in our view of God, ourselves, the temporal world we live in, godly values that we need to uphold as long as we are in this world, and eternity that we will have with God and with other believers.    Being “together” necessitates letting go of my personal schedule/agenda or my list of things that I want to accomplish for each day, my personal preferences of how I want things to be done or when I wanted it to be done.  Becoming “one in heart and mind” is not something that happens naturally or by default.  It is only possible when I let go of the desires and stubbornness of my own heart and mind and I align my heart with God’s heart and my thoughts with God’s thoughts.  This is too difficult to do it on my own because naturally I am deluded, rebellious and utterly self-centered.  I need my spiritual leaders and spiritual peers to hold up the mirror for me when I am misaligned, to strengthen me when I am weak, and to set me straight when I am not in my right state of mind.  God being a communal God created us to be “devoted” to His teachings (the Word) and to the fellowship with other believers, my sisters and brothers in Christ.  Through our devotion to God’s Word and to God’s people, the world will see the marked difference between the church and any other community in this world.    Unless the church obeys God’s plan for the church, rather than being the conduit of the Gospel we become a hindrance to the Gospel that the world desperately needs.

Mark 3:31-35

In the Mark text, Jesus draws new lines around the idea of “family”.  What is Jesus expressing here about the ties that bond a human family, and the bond among his disciples?

Jesus is saying that the bond he has with his disciples is even stronger than the bond of a human family. He says that whoever does God’s will is his brother and sister and mother.

How is this reordering of human relationships around Jesus consistent with the Gospel?

If a relationship with God the Father is the most important relationship someone can have, it makes sense that those who are also sons of God the Father are those that you will align yourself with, share your life with, be accountable to, and love with concrete loyalty and sacrifice.

For whom would this redrawing of the boundary of family be comforting news?  For whom would it be unwelcome?

This would be comforting for those who have known a broken family, in which instead of love and security, there was strife and anger and hurt; who know that even family, who are supposed to be the ones to love and protect you, can let you down. For those even with a good family background, who know their sinfulness, their tendencies to want to indulge in the coziness and comfort of just a nuclear family, who know that even these good things and relationships can become a curse and idol when not submitted under the lordship of Christ, and who know that they need the church, people to be accountable to with their struggles, so that they could even build up their family to honor and glorify God in the way that it was meant to by being truly a place of love and peace and forgiveness, through which an open home and family could also draw others to experience the love of God – they would also welcome this. This would be unwelcome news for those who want to make their own circle of their nuclear family the center of their lives, even at the expense of doing God’s will and opening up their lives to be in open community with those outside just their own nuclear family.

I’ve always dreamed of having the perfect family, and for some time, I strove after this as the thing that would give me happiness. But when I surrendered my life to Christ, it was through the realization that because I was a sinner, whatever beautiful thing God gave me, if God was not the Lord over it, in my own sin and pride, I would end up ruining it and sabotaging it, and needed God to save me from myself. Without the commitment and love of my church family, who love me and are committed to me, to raise me in Christ, with whom I share a calling and vision to live out God’s will, I can only shudder to think of how my life, and even my family, would look, when I am not striving daily to obey God’s will with the encouragement, love and guidance of my brothers and sisters in Christ. Because of this, and because I know I am a sinner, and need God every moment, I welcome this redrawing of the boundary lines of family, because it’s not just me and my nuclear family left to fend for ourselves in this world on our own strength that quickly runs dry, but because of the thrill and joy of doing God’s will together with His church, I can experience “a hundred times as much in this present age” (Mark 10), even in terms of family, with hundreds of brothers and sisters in Jesus, and be able to raise my own family according to God’s perfect design when I am striving to do His will.

Submitted by Grace Kim, Gracepoint Berkeley

Consider the picture of the tribes encamped in close proximity around the tabernacle, and what kind of life this would have fostered.
By living in this kind of close proximity to the tabernacle & to one another, they would have fostered close communities that provided care, encouragement, as well as accountability and protection for one another. Because they lived so close to each other, they would have seen each other often, be in & out of one another’s homes, and people’s needs would be known & met. Because they all serve the same God & have the common purpose of living out his commands, they would also have provided tremendous encouragement for one another to continue to live according to His ways. Furthermore, I picture the members of the community providing accountability as well as a hedge of protection from temptation to stray, to serve other gods, & fall prey to their personal weaknesses/sins.

Once the Israelites settled in the promised land, how might life have changed if the regulations in leviticus 25 were not in place?
If the regulations in Leviticus 25 were not set in place, the tight-knit communities would not be able to form nor maintained. When a countryman becomes poor & has to sell his land, then to relocate, he would be removed from the community that he was once part of, and as more and more people were moving out & new tenants moving in, close community life would virtually be impossible.

What are some modern day factors that militate against the picture of life envisioned in these passages?
Some modern day factors that militate against the picture of life envisioned in these passages are:
a. People living in different cities, far from church & from one another
b. People moving to different cities and places because of great academic and career opportunities
c. People church hoping for year, or not able to settle or commit to one
d. People having different picture/vision of the church (unbiblical) or people coming to church w/ their own personal agendas.

I have also seen people who have been going to church for years, but never growing into the community God envisions because they are not honest or don’t open up, and they live in isolation in their own thoughts and feelings. this goes along with hidden sins that were not confessed.

Consider the process by which concepts – including spiritual truths become lived-out realities. what concrete elements are required for this to happen? I consider the process by which concepts & spiritual truths become lived out realities this way:
1) Getting to know and familiarizing with one another
2) Get to a level of honesty & trust through seeing one another’s lives and doing life together
3) Be able to fix and speak truth in love to one another
-To fix/correct one’s wrong/unbiblical thinking
-To encourage those who are down with the truths of god’s promises & love
-To turn someone away from sin & a destructive path

4) “Sticking it out”, through the ups and downs, hard, confused, spiritually dry times.
In sum, the concrete elements required for spiritual concepts to be lived out would be investment of time and in relationships, honesty & truth, and accountability/encouragement under the same vision of doing God’s will.

*What would it look like for a modern Christian to order his or her life according to the layout of Numbers 2?
-Living close to church & to one another
-Living among the same people of God over time
-Living under the same purpose of obeying God’s commands
-Living in trusting and close relationship with others

How does this apply to me?
Thinking about the vital necessity of a spiritual community in order for spiritual concepts/values to be lived out, and the process through which this happens reminded me of what the panelists were talking about yesterday at the Do the Right Thing forum. Their answer to whether we can actually do the right thing that we know was the church, a close knit-community that can strengthen one another to do the right thing together. The secular individualistic world that we live in goes against the formation and sustenance of a strong biblical community and I see how it will require me to equip my mind to think biblically as I live out my life in the context of the community that I live in. I need to ensure the vital elements of what makes a strong spiritual community in my life & in the lives of those that I am ministering to – living in close proximity, to have a common goal/vision, to be honest & vulnerable before one another in trust & humility, to keep each other accountable to live according to god’s values, and to stick it out through ups and downs and across time.

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Submitted by Peter Choi, Gracepoint Berkeley

The tribes’ close proximity around the tabernacle would have been a constant reminder of the presence of God. Accountability before God – no one would have the excuse that they forgot, because the tabernacle is right there! But what is interesting is that the close proximity to the tabernacle would have also insured their close proximity to each other, which would have made them mindful of each other all the time. At first thought I wondered why God did it this way, thinking that the sheer number of people would have made it claustrophobic, making the situation ripe for people to get annoyed with each other. But I realized that when differences are worked out, and it becomes increasingly clear to everyone that it is God who holds them together (as the tabernacle is in the center), there is clear advantage in everyone being so close together. Seeing faith lived out, being mindful of their role in the community, holding each other accountable would have been an everyday reality for the Israelites. The fact that they spent so much time in the wilderness, in close proximity to one another would have insured that a pattern was established over the Israelites’ long tenure in the wilderness as well. The provisions would have also insured that no one wander off to secure a better patch of land for themselves, as would have been the case in the absence of such a provision.

There is something very basic to how people are when it comes to securing something nicer, something more comfortable, something more convenient. So these provisions probably did a lot to prevent a natural degradation of the community over time, as people followed their desires for something better. This is likely the case with the regulations in Leviticus 25 as well. Without them, the temptation would have been very strong for many to try to secure for themselves a better piece of land – to upgrade for something that is more secure, more comfortable, more convenient, even if it was a little bit further out from the rest of the tribe. Just leave the land and start over somewhere else rather than try to work it out. Find a little patch that you can call your own and start fresh. It sounds so appealing. But you are not just leaving the land. You leave the people as well, the positive influence, the spiritual foundations laid over the many years in the wilderness together. The provisions defined in Leviticus 25 made it so that the people do not move away from the land, remain together, and that each person remain connected to the community, with all the benefits. And that’s the kind of life that God envisioned in the first place – where he is the center, and life is lived out in community, where a person’s whim is tempered by the wisdom of the community and a person’s security is derived not from what he owns or what he can do, but from being part of the community.

Modern life, with one’s ability to pick up and move up to thousands of miles away at a drop of a hat, makes such connectedness a challenge. Especially when pressures from society almost push me in that direction. While mobility has made it practical for people to live in suburbs with their nuclear families, not having to deal with a single soul if they didn’t want to, that is not the picture of what God had in mind. With the advent of the internet, a person literally has millions of connections, but not very many meaningful ones. At the end of the day, the modern individual’s preference always win out – his desire for something nicer, something more comfortable, more convenient, more advantageous. Possible? Yes, but from today’s text it’s clear that this was not what God had in mind.

As a person with a natural tendency toward lonerism, I can understand why anyone would be attracted to setting up shop a little further out. I get frustrated with my inability to communicate clearly and feelings of not wanting to deal with people start to creep up. But basically this boils down to not wanting to deal with the reality that I am connected. Frustrated or not, I am part of a people. This is very serious because in its essence, what it means to be human, to be made in the image of God is to be relational, to be connected, to be a part of community. It is no surprise, then, that a life that is lived in isolation is a poor one, where examples are lacking, accountability is non-existent, and encouragement to do the right thing absent. Because that is precisely how I learn to live out my faith – by following the examples that more spiritually mature people have set for me, by being held accountable to high spiritual standards by leaders and peers, and by being an example for others. Without such connectedness, spiritual life is just a fantasy, something to be embraced only in the idealism of youth – certainly not a reality to be lived out into my 40s, 50s and beyond.

So as I continue to live out my life in community, at our church, into my 24th year here, I realize more and more that the kind of connectedness at our church is something to be more than grateful for. I am indebted. And what I have at Gracepoint, flaws and all, is a working model for modern times of how I can order my life according to the layout found in Numbers 2.

Romans 12:3-12

How can a person have “sober judgment” about himself, and what relationship does this have with the close community described in this passage? – We can have sober judgment about ourselves by receiving objective truth about ourselves which we ourselves are unable to see.  We are blind to many aspects of ourselves because we are simply unaware, and because we are reluctant to squarely face areas that are too unpleasant for us.  These objective truths must come from outside of us, from people who know us well.  This is where we need the close community.  We need people who have plenty of opportunities to observe objective truths about me.  We need people who can see my life over long period of time, observe my way of life, and communicate truth to us.  However, this must be done in the context of loving relationships.  Without it, because of the twistedness in us caused by sin, we can receive difficult truths as attacks on us even when it’s spoken out genuine concern.  We need to be assured that truth is being spoken to us because it really matters for our lives and for our relationships with others.  Also, without being in a close community, people can withhold truth from us.  Sometimes it’s not easy speaking truth to others because there is no guarantee that it will be received well.  In such situations, it would be tempting to withhold the full truth.  We need a close, loving community that cares enough to tell whole truth because it’s essential for close community.

Identify points of contrast between Genesis 4’s description of Cain and his descendants as a picture of life falling apart outside of God, and the picture presented here of the community made possible by the reversal of sin’s ravages.  – In Genesis 4, Cain and his descendants became more and more isolated, living life by self and for self.  It began with Cain’s jealousy and murderous thoughts towards his brother.  Then he became afraid of others that they might treat him the same way he treated his brother.  He physically retreated and isolated himself when he built a city to protect himself.  His descendants sought significance and meaning in life through their own accomplishments.  In such a way of life, any situation where others can potentially make demands on us becomes a threat.  Any time we have to divert resources from ourselves to someone else, we become unsettled.  It’s a life of continuous anxiety.  In the course of such life, even the ‘joy’ that people experience is so isolated and alone, and that is no joy, for it cannot be shared with anyone else.  In the community of faith, where relationships matter a lot, a reversal is possible.  Because we are one body and each member belongs to all the others, we cannot disregard others in our decisions and actions.  The moment we cut off ourselves from others, we see detrimental effects on the health and strength of the body.  If we pursue our own agenda, that’s terribly deflating for others who want to build this community up to what it was supposed to be.  What we do inevitably affects the rest of the body, since we are connected.  In this community, as we allow the needs of others to make demands on us, we can begin to chip away at this isolated life.  We begin to taste the fulfillment of serving others, the joy of being a blessing to them in some way.  We also begin to experience the freedom that comes with releasing the grip on our lives.  However, for me to experience this reversal, I must battle the Cain within me, which says, “Do what you have to do, but save a part of yourself for yourself, pace yourself.” These are words that lead to no benefit for anybody – walls go up around me, and there is no connection with others, no life.   I must uproot the Cain in me by affirming and embracing my role in this community.  I must commit to respond to the needs by making sure I give my fully, as described by these words in verse 8 – generously, diligently, cheerfully.

Submitted by Jeannie Lee, Gracepoint Berkeley:

Romans 12:4-5 (Friday’s DT)

⁴ Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

One of the things that hit me from this week was from Romans 12:4-5, verses I had memorized years ago in Survival Kit 1.  The thing that always challenges me about these verses is the phrase, “each member belongs to all the others.” Each time I read these verses, I have to pause and think about how much am I living these verses out.  We live in a close-knit community and are often praised for how close we are, how we are actively trying to live out the Acts 2 fellowship; our fellowships are named a2f and Koinonia (greek for fellowship). If each member belongs to all the others, that means I belong to my brothers and sisters, including my time, my energy, my house, my children, and that they belong to me, meaning I’d better know what their needs are, and I’d better be owning them. I had to examine myself to see how much I actually take ownership over and also how much I allow others to take ownership over my life, and commit once again to personally own my younger brothers and sisters, not to be afraid of speaking the truth in love, not being afraid to bring up uncomfortable issues if need be, not being afraid to impose myself on them, whether it be for a meal, or to talk, or to impose myself to be a listening ear, to probe more deeply when necessary; there are many ways others can belong to me and I can belong to others.

Another point that stuck out to me this week was Tuesday’s DT on Matthew and Ephesians.  One of the questions was, “What is the foundation of the church, according to the Matthew and Ephesians passages?” And my answer was, the confession of the saints that Jesus is Savior and Lord, those who gather in the name of Jesus, and the foundation of the apostles and prophets.  The Ephesians 4 passage also ended with, “¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” I thought about each person’s role in the building up of the church, how each part needs to strive to attain to unity in the faith, in the knowledge of the Son of God, and to continually grow, so that the body would be a living vibrant active community of faith.  I see so many people who tragically are stuck in a “little old me” mentality, thinking that, “What can I do anyway,” “I can’t contribute much,” or “I’m not needed,” “No one will even notice if I’m not there,” when it clearly says, each part needs to do its work, and that we are all members of God’s household! And that we are being built together, to achieve unity and to grow together! What an amazing picture! There is no time or room to remain in insecurity or to have a “little old me” complex. We need to be the church that advances upon the gates of Hades! I committed again through these passages and DTs to be someone who helps to hold together the body, and to look for ways to build it up, rather than to be disjointed and remain in unfruitful isolated thoughts.