Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us.
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time,
That will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we'll stand on Your promises;
And by faith we'll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, 'til your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory.
We all want to be a part of something bigger than us. Something that lives on after us. Something that touches the four corners of the globe. Something more far-reaching than our small world. At least I do. On a regular basis, the restless desire stirs in me to DO something -- something Big, something Earth-shattering, something that Matters. Recently, the welling realization has flooded me that the Church is the Something Big I am seeking. It's the Big Movement of all time. The Church is the Grand Plan. Spanning 2000 years, the collective body of believers has made a startling effect on the planet -- shaping history, culture, politics, government, families, and individuals. Slaves have been and are being set free as a result of the passionate advocacy of members of Christ's Body. The hungry are being fed as a result of the compassionate work of Christian organizations. The academically and Biblically illiterate are being given the Words of Life in many nations around the world as a result of missionary work. As an individual, I cannot do all these things alone, or even at all. I am just one person. But I am part of the body of Christ. And we are One.
So when I lift my voice in song -- proclaiming eternal truth, building the church, glorifying God. I am thousands, probably millions of voices strong. I am singing as one with the present day members of Christ's body huddled together in an underground church in Asia. I raise my voice in song along with the church behind the Iron Curtain of the '80s in Russia. My voice is united with the believers in Acts experiencing the Holy Spirit building the church for the first time. Across all of time, across all geographical boundaries, the church is one, accomplishing Kingdom work as one Body with one purpose and one Lord. What, then, can be more fulfilling than being a part of the Church?
2 comments:
Soooo true, Julie ! Thank you for such a refreshing wide place from which to see our oneness in Christ's body. God's Spirit faithfully multiplies our few loaves and fish! The church is His Program; we cannot fail.
Amen
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