Pastor's Note
Our Common Thread
By Pastor Rick
We would all agree that we have spent too much time over the past 18 months discussing, debating, and defending our differences. When in fact, all our disagreements can’t compare to the long list of needs that we share in common. We all need air. We all need water. We all need food. We all need friends. And we all need hope!
In one of my favorite books: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, the late Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. Paul Brand, explores the complex creation called the human body. With knowledge gained from the world of science and medicine, he probes deeply into the world of cells, bones, skin, muscles and nerves to show how our body is an expression of a spiritual reality the Apostle Paul called the Body of Christ.
Dr. Brand wrote: “The Body of Christ, like our own bodies, is composed of individual, unlike cells that are knit together to form one Body. He is the whole thing, and the joy of the Body increases as individual cells realize they are not to be isolated from each other.”
But what moves our cells to work together? How is it possible that a hundred trillion cells can coordinate their function, enabling us to see and hear and think and walk? According to Dr. Brand, the secret is locked away inside our DNA – that chemical ladder that contains all the instructions that makes every living human being unique and of great value. We are made in the image of God.
Dr. Brand understood this uniqueness when he wrote: “The community called the Body of Christ differs from every other human group. Unlike a social or political body, membership in it entails something as radical as a new coded imprint inside each cell. In reality I become genetically like Christ Himself because I belong to His body.” WOW!
By the gift of saving faith in Jesus Christ, we are made members of His Body, the Church. Now our Healer becomes our Head. And when we cling to Him, we find our connection with each other – through Jesus -- Who is our common thread.
Be encouraged as you read what He has been doing among us!
September 15, 2021
