Listening

          The picture of the Church as the body of Christ is a common one in the New Testament.  Christ Himself takes on the role of the head, and we are the individual parts, perhaps down to the individual cells that make up the rest of His body.  This analogy hints at a fundamental choice God has made in interacting with our world and with us: the choice of self-limitation.  He limited Himself by taking on human flesh.  Then He died and rose, and limited Himself to the position of Head.  As Head, He establishes His presence in the world through us.  He doesn’t need us to work out His will in the world, but He has chosen to work through us. 

            Like a physical body, the body of Christ must follow certain laws to function properly.  Just as our nerves need to stay connected to our brain to properly function and communicate to the rest of the parts, we need to stay connected to the Head to truly function as His body.

“Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by…not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.”  Colossians 2:18-19

           

Dr. Paul Brand tells us that if you take a frog and remove it’s brain, it will continue to swim easily across its pond.  You could get the impression that the injury was inconsequential until you look more closely.  The frog is swimming randomly, kicking its legs in reflexive patterns.  Without it’s brain, it has no purpose. Without its brain, it cannot choose to eat, or to swim faster to get out of harm’s way. 

Likewise, when we choose to separate ourselves from the Head, we can continue to go through the motions of Christian life, attending church and living basically moral lives, but our purpose, our connectedness to the rest of the body, and any hope for growth, is gone.  Apart from the head, we revert back to fleshly instincts, defrauded of the prize of our liberty in Christ. 

            Often the Body of Christ has functioned like a quadriplegic.  The head is intact and functioning perfectly, but the body remains motionless, paralyzed by sin or fear.  The Head is sending out messages and directing movement, but the body is not receiving those messages and isn’t sending any sensory information back to the head.  Only as we stay connected to the Head, obeying it’s every command, can we function properly as the Body of Christ in this world.  Only as we live in obedience can we effectively communicate God’s love and will to the world around us. 

            We are the Body of Christ.  Whether or not we choose to live as an effective, well-connected body is up to us.  Each of us must do our part to listen to and obey the Head, or the rest of the body suffers. 

            What is the Head saying to you, as a part of his body? Are you responding in obedience born of love? Each part of the body was designed to play a specific part. What part are you? Are you serving in the area he created you for? Are you listening?