If We Are the Body, Then Who's In Charge?

I don't know why it still amazes me that children can say such profound things and not even realize it.

My six-year-old son really keeps my mind on edge. He comes up with questions and observations that just blow me away. Sometimes even when he doesn't understand something, it raises a deep philisophical observation or question for me.

Back on Father's Day, my family visited my father's grave. Not really knowing the significance, Cameron, my son, just continued asking questions as we stood there thinking, praying, trying not to cry, etc. Among these questions was this: "So is Grandpa in there?" as he pointed to the ground under the headstone. "Only his body is there" was my answer, thinking that would end that conversation. "Then where's his head?" he asked me in return. "What? What did he just ask me?" I thought to myself. After a couple probing questions, because now I was curious about his thoughts on this, I realized that in his mind, the head is not actually part of the body. The body is just used by the head, but the head is where a person's essence is contained. This was confirmed several days later in a discussion about Heaven, our souls, and our spirits. His question during that conversation was "so it's just a bunch of heads flying around in Heaven, but all the bodies are buried down here?" Can you imagine the mental images that must be floating around in his little head during these two conversations? He wasn't scared by any of this, just genuinely curious...trying to wrap his brain around this so that he could stow it away and move on to life's next big imponderable.

All of this has raised just a few points in my mind, though, too. We talk often in church about the church being the "body" of Christ. And we easily identify Christ as the "head" of the church. But you know what? I know that personally, there have been times when I've not looked at the two as one complete unit. I have also witnessed others that apparently don't either. I know God is flowing through all that we do. I know that the Holy Spirit is moving among us and keeping us connected. But as material beings, I think it's possible that we often look at Christ as being "there" and at us as being "here". The head separated from the body, so to speak. It occurs to me now that Christ doesn't want a remote-controlled church. He wants to be attached, connected to the core, with all the same life and blood and love and passion flowing through Him that flows through us. He's not just our headquarters, broadcasting commands from afar. He's the Team Leader, and He wants to be right out on the front lines with us, feeling the danger, fighting the enemy, hearing the cries of the wounded around Him. As our "head", He knows that He too is part of the body, part of us. He was hated. He was beaten. He tasted death. He didn't do it because He was bored. He did it because as the head of this body, He needs us to know that He's with us, He's been there, He'll always be there. He's not just a head "flying around in Heaven".

I'm throwing in a song that I really like that sort of goes along with the idea of us being the Body of Christ. I hope you enjoy it.

Peace,

Mike

My Long Winter's Nap

I've been asleep for so long. That's what it feels like. I've been sleeping, dozing, sort of meandering through life.

This time of year always makes me look back at what I've accomplished in the last 11 months. For many years, it led to feelings of failure because I wasn't making a lot more money after a year of hard work. For the last few years, however, I find myself thinking that I spent a whole year and really didn't further God's Kingdom at all. I list all the Bible studies, Sunday School classes, community service groups, church committees and prayer chains I was involved in. But in the end, we really don't know what that amounts to, do we? For me, it makes me feel better about myself. But does that mean that the kingdom was served by my actions?

This year, I wonder to myself if that mystery isn't by design. After all, we are human, especially me. If I knew that in the last 11 1/2 months there were 19 people who would find salvation because of something I did or said....I might be inclined to take a couple months off. I'd probably give myself a "high five". Maybe I'd just sleep a little, doze a little, meander a little. You know, as a reward for all my hard work. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that my Lord knows me well enough to keep that information to himself. This way, I feel I need to keep trying.

There will always be things that make me feel that I've fallen short. That's because I have. But these "things" are not God's plan for me. I've fallen short for the same reasons that everyone else has.....because I'm human. I've fallen short because I can't make it alone. I think I've fallen short because God wants me to need him.

So I try to stay awake. I try to get others around me to stay awake....to keep me company so that we don't miss opportunities to serve Him.