Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Unity (1 Corinthians 11:17-22)

Today's scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:17-22

Paul wrote to the church at Corinth just a handful of years after Christ’s ascension … and already there were “divisions” and “factions” in the church. People were coming “together not for the better but for the worse.”

Sadly, not much has changed over the centuries.

So much is being written and discussed about how people “love Jesus, but hate the church.” The church is full of hypocrites, they say. Those church people are so exclusive, so intolerant.

Even within the church, denominations abound. So much “my church is better than your church.”

The tragedy is that the “church” isn’t a building. It’s not a place. The true church is the body of Christ, the One who gave His life to provide salvation for all people. For all people.

That’s what we seem to forget. We are all sinners. We are flawed, imperfect, unrighteous. Yet when we put our trust in Jesus, when we believe in Him and accept His gift of salvation, we become part of His body, part of His church.

We are hands, feet, eyes, and ears of the very same body. And as such, we should work together, love each other, serve each other. We should be healthy and growing. And others should want to be a part of this body because of how attractive it is.

We should have no divisions within the church. Maybe if we did, unbelievers would have a desire to be part of the true church.

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