Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
1 Corinthians 12:27 NIV

If we are part of Christ’s body, we will recognize our need to fit into the body of believers. The Church is the place where we come together to encourage one another as members of Christ’s body. Together we fulfill an important purpose on the Earth.

In December of 1989, I found myself back in church after turning away from it—and God—for several years. It was difficult to even take those first steps from the parking lot. I was sure people were going to judge me; sure they could see all of my sins like a Scarlet Letter on my clothes.

As I entered the building, my fears grew stronger, the voice inside my head saying,

“Get out of here as fast as you can!”

And yet, I stayed. I planted myself in the seat and willed myself to look straight ahead and just survive the next hour and a half. Then the music started. I have always been a music lover. I began to listen to the words and realized I could believe them. God was for me. He sent His Son for me…for me! Tears began streaming down my face, and I hurriedly wiped them away so my family wouldn’t notice. Before I knew it, my voice was blending in with the others in the church, growing stronger as my faith grew each week.

The words in the Bible seemed as though they were written just for me. The smiles of the other people were just what I needed to encourage me—they weren’t seeing my sins; they were seeing my potential. God knows your potential. He is for you. He is for us. When we come to church, we are bringing more than just another body to fill a seat in the auditorium. We are bringing our potential—our uniqueness—to the body of Christ meeting together.

— Janna Briggs

Reflect

Take some time to reflect on these questions:

Have you ever felt like you had done something (or had something done to you) so awful people (or God) wouldn’t accept you or you couldn’t be used by God to help others?  What were the circumstances surrounding that time?

Once you made the decision to say “yes” to Jesus, your sins were forgiven and you became a new creation! Since 1 Corinthians 12:27 tells us that you are part of the body of Christ, how does that feel?
(Body= Not Christ’s natural body.  Every Christ Follower is a part of The Church—the group of people on Earth who are Christians.)