And this membership isn’t just a small thing either. It’s a huge thing. It’s not like the towing insurance for your car if it breaks down. Being a member of his body, the church, is wildly important because of what he’s actively doing for us right now.
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Nourishing – he doesn’t just feed us, but leads us onward to grow up into mature members of his body, the church.
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Cherishing – he warms us when we all alone and cold, he comforts and revives us when we’re down and out
As a member, it’s no longer just us as an individual believer. No, we’re part of something bigger. We have a part to play in something more important than just our individual lives.
But we’re more than just a part, we are to be a working part. An active part. Being who God made us to be, doing what he made us to do.
And my part isn’t just out there all alone. No, my part connects and works with the parts that are right next to me. And our parts together serve a greater and more important part than we could do on our own.
The Truth about the Meaning of Membership:
It may be difficult to hear this. It may even be harder to believe this. You might not want to think it’s true. But hear goes. I need you to be the believer and person that God wants so I can grow up into the person he wants me to become. There I said it. I need you. And when you’re not doing what you were made to do, what God has called you to become, then I can never fully blossom and grow into the man that God wants me to be.
And the opposite is also true. If I don’t grow and become the godly man he wants me to become, then you can’t fully blossom and grow into the person he has in store for you.
The meaning of membership says that we “are” members of his body. Period. It’s a statement of fact. It’s true, so anything other than true is false. It’s something that we already are. It’s done. It was completed when we accepted Jesus.
It’s time to stop fighting it. And to join it. Start cooperating with God and his role for you in his body of believers. You’re needed more than you will ever know.
Noodling Questions
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How do you feed and care for your relationships within the body of Christ?
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When are you most nourished and cherished within Jesus’ church? How?
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How can we best help one another grow and flourish in the Lord?
This article about the meaning of member originally appeared here, and is used by permission.
