Day 8: One Body?

One of the main ways the enemy attacks the Church is through division. He knows if he can keep the church from working together, then he can keep it from being fully effective for the kingdom of God. He also knows that his time is running short, so he is attacking the church even more aggressively than he ever has before. The Church must be aware of the enemy’s tactics, deliberately working together to be united as one. It can do this by taking a stand against jealousy, gossip, self-righteousness, and pride within the Church, and instead, radically loving one another.

The Church must truly become one body, with all of the parts working together for the common good of all. 1 Corinthians 12:24-26 says, “But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it”. When the Church works together as the body of Christ, then the enemy has no room to operate!

The Church should be the prime example to the world of what true unity looks like. Sadly, it often falls short of this. The good news is that this is a problem that can easily be fixed, starting with you and me choosing to humble ourselves, put others’ needs above our own, and love like Jesus did.

Question to consider:
What can you do to promote a culture of unity within your own church?

Prayer
Jesus, help me to humble myself and learn to love others above myself. Give me the strength to let go of any negative feelings that I am harboring against other members of the church. Thank you, Jesus, for giving me the perfect example of what a selfless life lived for others looks like.

By Emily Carpenter, Student