Last week I talked about how important it is for believers to come together as a body. And while I think most (definitely not all) would agree, I don’t think we realize how ingrained the individual idea is in our society. For instance, one of my favorite hymns still to this day says this in the chorus “This is MY story. This is My song. Praising My Savior all the day long!” Now, are those words wrong – NO. He is my Savior, it is my song and I will praise Him. However, bigger than me and my story, this is our story and He is our Savior and together we will praise Him for all eternity.
The NT authors would probably have never written those words. They did not see themselves as individuals in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. But instead, they saw themselves as members of a community together in a Covenantal relationship with the God of Israel through the faithfulness of His Son Jesus. They saw themselves standing in line with saints throughout all the ages together proclaiming the greatness of God.
One voice can sound pretty enough but a choir of voices can be overwhelming. One musical instrument played alone can be pretty and catch your attention. But you are much more likely to be grabbed by the music of an orchestra. The more voices or instruments that sing together the more amazing and impressive the display. And that doesn’t take away the significance of the one voice or the part you or I play in it. But it does gives us a sense and understanding that we are a part of something greater than ourselves. We need to remember that we are not alone but we are standing shoulder to shoulder with saints from every age and every nation.
I went to a women’s retreat a couple of mos ago and the whole time all they did was let woman after woman share her story of what Jesus had done in her life. It was amazing, encouraging, convicting, wonderful, incredible to hear ALL that God had done. We as believers need to come together and share/teach/preach/… what God is doing in our lives. We need to hear from each other!
May we begin to see ourselves collectively as the body of Christ. May our lives together grab hold of the attention of those around us as they see in us something that is different. May we truly become a community of one body (though in different places) with one Lord and one Song.