Tag Archives: body

Body of Christ

body of Christ

I have recently begun to work with a coach to help me with strength training since my body is so out of shape. One thing I have noticed after each workout session is that I can feel soreness in certain areas of my body a day or two later. That pain, that ache is my body telling me which part of it is the weakest and needs some special attention to become stronger. So my coach has helped me to focus on exercises that help those areas of concern to become better and more useful to me in my daily living.

This makes me think about what the Bible tells us about the Body of Christ:

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,  which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. —Romans 12:21-26

As with our own physical body, we as the Body of Christ work together to help and support each other for the good of the whole body. So if a fellow Christian is going through pain of any kind, we exercise our caring muscles to bring them relief. If another Christian is feeling weak, we stretch out our hands to encourage them with the message that we each can be strong in the Lord in the role that he has given us to advance the Body’s abilities. Be a blessing today to the members of the Body of Christ around you, and give them a leg up, if you will. The Body of Christ will be better for it.

Portraits

portrait

I recently learned that, before cameras, when people had portraits done of themselves, they would display their wealth by how much of their bodies the painters included in the frame. For instance, it was a sign of wealth for a person’s hand to be depicted and it was a sign of even greater wealth to include a person’s torso and legs in a portrait. The funny thing I found out was that many times the full-body portrait was so tall, the piece could not fit on the wall of a normal room in a home. So what often happened was that the portrait would be cut into three parts and the head and feet would be framed at the top and bottom of a wall, but the too-long torso portion would be removed and placed in the basement. That led to many basements being filled with paintings only of torsos with no heads or legs.

I say all this because we often tend to give only parts of ourselves to God. We may just give him our brain as we think and ponder on his Word. Or we just give him our lips to declare our praises to him. But we may not want to use our hands to welcome and serve others and we may be resistant to using our feet to spread the Gospel to people across town or across the globe. Many hands and feet can many times go unused in the house of God or in our own homes.

I am reminded of the words of Jesus who said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). Every part of you should make up a portrait of you as a Christian. Every fiber of your being should be a beautiful display of the Master at work in your life. Let your whole self be devoted to God.

The Heart of the Matter

heart matters

In the fourth century B.C., Aristotle proclaimed his belief that the heart was the center of the soul and that it affected emotions and how you were feeling and reacting to things. People in the Middle Ages believed that goodness and holiness could be physically revealed in the heart. Those who were found to have an enlarged heart, for example, were thought to be extremely loving and virtuous.

We in our modern medical age know better, of course. We know that the heart is just a muscle that pumps blood, not an organ that is the source of our emotional state. Yet, our hearts can be affected by emotions that come from our brains. Our hearts beat faster when we are afraid or in love. Our hearts slow down when we are feeling relaxed and comfortable.

The Bible talks about the role of our hearts in the spiritual sense as well. Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). The heart is symbolically seen as a place where love comes from and where spiritual wellness resides, even to this day. But John reminds us in his epistle, “God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything” (1 John 3:20).

God is of more importance than the beating of our hearts, the condition of our physical bodies and our reaction to things here on earth. No matter how we feel or what our hearts are doing, God is in control and in charge of our lives. He knows us through and through. Out of his own heart, he sent his Son in love to us that we might be free from all that makes our hearts ache or break because of sin. He warms our hearts and fills us with faith that courses through us that we may not be swayed by emotions, but remain grounded in his grace. The heart of the matter in all things is Jesus.

Christ of our Lives

Christ of the Ozarks

I recently went on a short vacation to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. One of the popular sights to see there is “Christ of the Ozarks,” a large statue of Jesus with arms outstretched à la the Christ the Redeemer statue in Buenos Aires. But it has its own look and feel that somehow tells you that you are in the Ozarks.

It makes me think, “How does Christ look to you?” What does “Christ of Mark Zimmermann” feature most prominently? I would say that for me when I think of Christ, I think of his loving eyes. I picture his arms reaching forward to embrace me. I ponder his smile upon me.

Take a few moments today to consider what your image of Christ looks like for you personally. How do you see his face? How do you view his stance toward you? Perhaps take some time to draw your concept of Christ.

Our experiences with Christ may be different for each of us, but in the end the qualities of Christ that remain the same are his everlasting love and care, his forgiveness and grace. Those aspects will never change. Thanks be to God!

The Body of Christ

eye and ear

The body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. (1 Corinthians 12:14-18).

I find this passage fascinating because it sounds so ludicrous and basic at the same time. That thought that a part of the body wants a promotion, if you will, and wants even total domination seems unreasonable. And the fact that the basics of biology require that the parts of the body stay where they are to do what they are intended to do makes any request otherwise seem irrational.

Yet that is so often what we in the body of Christ do. We ask God for a different role than the part God has given us to play. We ask, “Why did you make me this way?” Or “What aren’t my talents being used elsewhere?” Or “Why are other parts getting more attention than me?”

The answers to all these questions are simple. “I made you this way for a reason,” God says. “I put you in this place because you are greatly needed there,” he say. “This is not a competition. All parts are working for the Lord and all things are done to his glory,” he declares.

So be blessed and rejoice in the part you are in Christ’s body.


Wholely Healthy

wholely healthy

In the article “The Integrated Pastor,” in the Spring 2019 CT Pastors Special Issue, author Todd Wilson identifies three areas a pastor needs to take seriously to stay wholely healthy. While meant for pastors, the principles can apply to us all. Here are the three areas to focus on:

  1. Take the body more seriously. Eat healthy and regularly. Exercise. Get good sleep. Take care of your body when it is sick or hurting. You are your best self and the person God created you to be when your body is functioning at its best.
  2. Take the brain more seriously. Think positively. Don’t wallow in negative thought. Think about those things that are pleasing to God. I am always going back to Philippians 4:8: Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Thinking on these things keeps our brains stronger and healthier in faith and closer to the mind of God.
  3. Take interpersonal communion more seriously. God has created us to be in community with others. We need to make time to be with others, to learn from them, to grow in our understanding of our place in the Body of Christ. “Encourage one another and build each other up,” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says. The mutual support of one another goes a long way to keep our relationships with others and with Christ healthy and strong.

Let these three principles guide your life as you live your best life in the Lord.

Overcoming Temptation

overcoming temptation

In the article “Three Tests in the Wilderness,” in the March 2019 issue of Living Lutheran, author Brian Hiortdahl reviews for us the three temptations that Satan tried to entice Jesus with during his 40 days in the wilderness. The temptations were:

  1. To turn stone to bread.
  2. To throw himself from a high place to be rescued by angels
  3. To gain power over all the kingdoms of the earth by bowing to Satan

Each of these temptations Jesus resists and overcomes, using Scripture and declaring that God should not be put to the test.

Hiortdal reveals that Jesus overcame each of temptations in a much greater way in the last days of his life.

  1. Jesus turns his body into bread for those with hearts of stone on Maundy Thursday.
  2. Jesus is thrown down on the cross on Good Friday, but rises from the dead on Easter.
  3. Jesus ascends to absolute power when he returns to his rightful throne in heaven on Ascension Day.

Because Jesus ultimately overcame these temptations in this way, we, too, have the ultimate power to overcome every temptation the devil sends our way.

Exercising Body and Soul

exerciseThere is a trend in churches today to offer wellness and physical exercise programs within their walls. Some churches have gyms where members and those in the community can work out, and some offer fitness classes on a regular basis. For instance, since 2011 St. Enoch Lutheran Church in Kannapolis, NC, has been offering an hour-long class that incorporates dance, weights, Christian music and closes with a devotion and a prayer (Strybis, Erin, “Fit and Faithful,” Living Lutheran, January 2019, 15).

These sorts of programs help to build community and connections among members and others outside the church. They encourage healthy living and self-care of the bodies God has given us, these “temples of the Holy Spirit” we have been blessed with (1 Corinthians 6:19). The programs also foster and encourage discipline.

Just as we need to exercise our bodies on a regular basis, we need to exercise our souls. Exercising our souls on a regular basis through prayer, reading Scripture, Bible study, small group ministry and worship keeps our spiritual selves healthy and strong. Like physical exercise, there is a discipline to it that is not always something we are good at. But with the Holy Spirit’s help, we can keep at it. Think of the Holy Spirit as your trainer, always reminding you and encouraging you to keep going and to remember the benefits that come from regular exercising of our souls: a closer relationship with our Savior, a confidence and hope in him and a joy that lasts forever. Keep exercising your soul this week and see how your spirit is uplifted and stays fit.

 

Faith Formation

dinnerOne of the main tenets of the Church is that the home is the primary agent of faith formation. Scripture tells us:

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Deuteronomy 6:7-8

And it is something that Martin Luther urged strongly and the reason why he wrote the Small Catechism.

So how are we to go about that in our busy lives?

One suggestion is right there in the Scripture. Do it “when you rise” and “when you lie down.” Gather together as a family in the morning and before bedtime to pray and read Scripture and talk about how God helped you through the day and how God will give you strength for the day ahead.

Continue reading →

Beware the Camel!

camelsWorking together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain, —1 Corinthians 6:1

I just recently heard the saying, “A camel is  just a horse designed by a committee.” It made me laugh because we have all been there. When you are on a committee, often what started out as a simple idea gets muddled in the abundance of desires and the incorporation of conflicting ideas.

It makes me think about what often happens at church meetings, unfortunately. The ultimate goal sometimes gets lost in the shuffle of details and multiple opinions. Often things don’t get done in the process or good concepts are abandoned, sadly.

I know that so many times the issues are so complex that they cannot be easily solved, but one caveat that came to mind as I contemplated this “camel” conundrum is that when it comes to working together as a team within a church body, we need to do all we can to keep it simple.

Continue reading →