Church is more than a word

The dynamism of the body of Christ amazes me. In community individualism withers under the eminence of the spirit of unity that comes forth. I am me becomes we are WE! The rising crescendo of the voice of the church suffocates the persistent call of the spirit of independence. In this, self consideration dies and becomes the seed for a new life focused outwardly. It is a great mystery the way the spirit of Christ joins us together in service to one another while at the same time serving to rid us of our own conceit through use of the same joining. Christ as our creator uses the drive for community that He placed in us to free us from the bonds of self concern. As I become more in tune with the us of our group consciousness the me of my cocoon existence withers and fades away.

Even still God leaves me my individuality. He enjoys it. He is moved by my unique response to His good creation. He inhabits my personification right along with me. This relationship is special to Him. It is unlike any other relationship that He has. He is in me and I am in Him and we are in the Father. Even my personal distinction has a communal nature. Community while abolishing the drive for self actualization renews and improves me as a discretely separate being. I find myself to be more authentically myself when I discover my actuality in the kingdom of God.

Much time has been spent pontificating and many pages written on the nature, composition and purpose of the church of our savior. It has been dissected, deconstructed, and disassembled in the investigation of its incomprehensible phenomenon. It defies human efforts to define and apprehend it. It is an enigma to human thought. Even our studies of the morphology and etymology of the word church thwart us. The problem begins with the original Greek word ekklesia. Ekklesia was a word used to designate a group of people that were called out. Usually this was a group that was called to a public place, by a herald, to hear the latest decree. This works great when we are talking about the congregation of Gods people who are called by His name, called out of the old life. However the word ekklesia was only used in this context. So it does not describe this people in any other setting. If these same people who were called to hear the decree have now left and are out putting the decree in to practice or milking cows or whatever. They are no longer referred to as ekklesia. Even if they come together on their own in groups of indeterminate size later to discuss the given decree they are still not ekklesia. They must be called together a second time to be referred to as ekklesia. So in this regard the word does not work very well to describe the body of Christ. Just writing this I can think of three or four ways to logically attempt to apply the word. My purpose here is not to draw conclusions however but to point out that even in just the word that is used to convey the mystery that is the church of Christ we are stymied. It speaks to a deep truth. The reality of the body of Christ defeats our ability to quantify it, label it or determine it. It is alive. Try and define say, I’ll pick an easy one, an ameba. You will find that no matter how you define it there will be things you miss and still more things to add to the definition. Living things are defined by God and the church is no different.

That is why I find myself amazed. We are part of a great living organism, and I don’t mean some nasty water buffalo or something. I mean we are part of life itself. Not in some new age find your bliss kind of way, but in a very real and fundamental way. Through Christ all things have life, I don’t know how it works, but it does. We have been given a place of great honor (like my pastor Ron Rhea says, “if you want to be filled with reverence, do a study on the use of the word honor within the scriptures”). We get to be a part of the miracle that is life. We get to sit at the right hand of the Creator and participate in the dissemination of life giving power. No wonder our spirit thrills when we join in community. It knows what the ultimate communal experience is and it longs for it. To lose ourselves in the gift of His church is to be born again into the life that gives life.

So what ever it is that God has called you to do. Do it within the context of the church that He has called you to. You will be twice blessed. Blessed in your ability to serve others and blessed in the freedom and blessings you receive.