Reaching with Mortal Hands

Here are my thoughts on being the Body of Christ.

"Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually." 

-1 Corinthians 12:27

When I think about this verse, I get this incredible feeling of unworthiness. Me? The body of Christ? My body is mortal and soon to pass away. How can I be the body of Christ? The Bible is clear that Jesus ascended into Heaven and sent us His Holy Spirit so that we could continue the work of Christ on this earth. Thus, we [believers] essentially are Christ on the earth. 

We can see Christ's charge to believers in many places across the Gospel. Matthew 28:18-19 (commonly called "The Great Commission") is probably the most well-known charge to believers. 

"And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in   heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing   them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them   to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to           the end of the age. Amen." 

We see another charge to believers in John 20:21, "So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." I believe that these verses make it very clear that Jesus wants believers to do His works on this earth! If the previous verses didn't make it clear enough, then John 14:12 will. "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father." 

This is incredible, right? Jesus wants me (and you) to reach out to people! I am reminded of another scripture in Isaiah 61:1,

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,

Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;"

 

Jesus wants me to do that? Seriously? HOW CAN I DO THAT??? Short answer: the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus said in John 14:26, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." I am also reminded of Zechariah 4:6, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:

‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts." Before we even think  about our role as the Body of Christ, we must realize that it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us, that we can truly live like Christ. 

I would like to divert for a short moment. Many times in life, I get comfortable with doing things "my way." When my life is going smoothly, I often catch myself thinking that "I made such and such good thing happen." In reality, every good thing in my life comes from God! I have to realize that my "good works" are like filthy rags compared to Christ! (Isaiah 64:6). I tend to think that it was something I did for somebody that made their day. "Well, I helped that lady with her groceries." or "I was the one who showed kindness to that poor man." What a fool I am! It is only the goodness of Christ in me that allows me to do those things! How could I be so forgetful?

I have recently found myself painfully aware of the hurt that plaques this world. I have many family members that are facing very real hurt right now. My heart breaks for them! The other day I was thinking about all that is going on around me, and I became angry and frustrated. I prayed,"God, how am I supposed to help these people? What encouragement can I give? There is no material thing that can soothe their hurt. What can I say to the hurting? I want to help these people so badly! Why can't I do anything to make it better?" 

Then I remembered, I am not the one doing the work. It is Christ in me that does good.The Holy Spirit is the comforter, not me. Jesus is Savior, not me. The Father gives good things, not me. This is the mystery of the faith: mortal men being filled and empowered by an immortal Spirit. 

My prayer for every reader is that the Lord teaches you how to truly live a Spirit-filled life as a member of the body of Christ.