Please stop by Bridget Chumbley’s BlogSpot “Hoping to Make a Difference One Word at a Time” http://www.bridgetchumbley.com. This week’s Blog Carnival features entries written about the one word “church”. The following entry is what God stirred in my heart as I thought about church.
“Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?” If you answered that question with a yes, then, you are the church? You are the Body of Christ. The church is comprised of a body of believers at varying levels of maturity – from those who have recently received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior to those who have diligently walked in His ways for years.
Yesterday as I was reading a familiar passage recorded in the Gospel of Mark, I began to see something new – something fresh. Let me take a moment to share the context with you.
In this passage Jesus is walking beside the Sea of Galilee and He sees Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake and He bids them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” As I mulled over those words in mind, I thought how easy it is for me to get caught up in the doing – the wanting to do something of significance for the Lord. Then as I reread the words I heard Jesus saying to Simon and Andrew, “I WILL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN.” I was taken aback by these words. Jesus was going to make them fishers of men. This was not something they would accomplish, rather something that Jesus would accomplish through them. I began to wonder what Jesus could accomplish through me.
I continued to read. “When He (Jesus) has gone a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay(emphasis mine), He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him.” Without delay? This isn’t saying James and John responded without delay. It is saying that Jesus without delay called James and John. In other words, Jesus wasted no time in calling them?
Just as Jesus invited Simon and Andrew to follow Him, Jesus also calls each of us. At times I wonder if I have truly grasped what a high calling this is? Have I grasped the truth that just as Jesus “without delay” called James and John, “without delay” Jesus called me? How about you? Do you realize that Jesus has also called you?
Simon and Peter responded. “At once, they left their nets and followed Him.” James and John responded too. “They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him.” How about you? Are you ready to leave the things of this world behind to follow Jesus? Is your life a testimony that could challenge someone else?
Many years have passed since I first heard Jesus call me. Many years have passed since I accepted His gift of salvation. Now as I reflect on the true meaning of Christmas, my heart is renewed by its beauty. To think, that God would send His Son Jesus to this hurting world, an undeserving world, . . . for me, for my family, for my children, for my grandchildren, for you and your loved ones . . . what an indescribable gift He has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the Children of God. When we receive the wonderful gift of salvation, we become the church. The church is not a building. The church is the Body of Christ.
Remember, as Christmas draws near, we, the church, have the Christ Child within us. Therefore, we have the capacity to shine as brightly lit Christmas trees. We have heard the call to follow Jesus; therefore, we can proclaim the truth to others. So I ask, “What could Jesus accomplish through you this Christmas? Will you model Jesus and act without delay?”
“The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him.”
“By God’s help, I aim to be that man.”
(The first statement was made by Henry Varley to Dwight L Moody.
The second statement was Dwight L Moody’s response.)
