City Life Starter

Written by Blesson Selvanesan

The Word

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

1st Corinthians 12:27 (NIV)

Interpretation

All of us are relational beings. God created us in His image and this longing and being in relationship is a character of God. God in trinity is a relational being right from the beginning. This fact needs to be understood clearly in order to have a thriving life. However, this is different from friendship. Friendship can be based on anything; however, fellowship in Christ and with the body of Christ via the believers of Christ is much deeper than friendship.

Fellowship is united in purpose, journey and sacrifice. It is a process of being and going together and being there for one another. All the followers of Christ are grafted into a single functioning entity called the “body of Christ.” God through the words of Paul is giving everyone in the Corinthian church a new identity and a new place to belong, the body of Christ. People from all walks of life and various cultures got saved and came in to the church, and they were all grafted in to one body. That is where everyone belongs, we are no longer Jews or Gentiles; men or women, Greek or Hebrew, free or slave, old or young. We are all one in Christ.

Application

Our world is full of divisions. We are divided in innumerable ways and we tend to derive our identity from these groups. People bonded based on various things like language, ethnicity, national identity, tribe, etc. Then it was based on philosophy, political theory, education, profession, etc. It is a current fad to label us as some sort of victims and force us to identify within an intersection. In the current social media era we are more connected than ever but this is still the loneliest generation. As one Indian proverb goes, ‘paper curry will not fill your belly’. We have all in theory but no one to confide in. We have thousands of friends online but none in real life.

Christ gave everyone a new identity in fellowship with his body. By everyone being a part of it and thereby drawing life from Christ. There is life, purpose, and meaning in this fellowship with Christ believers. Everyone is starkly different but united in one body. This is the communion that came from the new covenant with Christ. This is where we get the term “e pluribus unum”! This cannot happen anywhere else other than in Christ. Christ is whom be belong, since He has purchased us by paying with His life. Our identity is in Christ and that is where we belong and this identity is secure in Him.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, Thank You for creating us to give and receive love. Help us enjoy our fellowship with you and people who form Your body. Help us to grow together in You knowing that we are in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.