Hiking is one of my daughter’s favorite pastimes. I would like to dedicate this blog to her. Imagine with me, a hike in the Appalachian Mountains. Beautiful scenery, plush trees and flowers, rolling mountains, but the goal is to reach the summit of one the highest mountaintops.
So I have packed all my necessary gear. Water bottles – check, nutrition bars – check, hiking shoes – check, first aid kit – check. Okay, I’m ready to roll! I’m off on the trail at the bottom of the mountain, heading towards the top of the summit. As I’m making significant progress on the winding trail, my foot stumbles over a small rock in the pathway. Falling, I brace myself with my arms but my thigh abruptly lands on a sharp rock, creating a nasty gash on my leg. Once I realize the severity of the cut on my leg, I pull out the first aid kit and bandage my leg.
A scenario plays in my mind between the members of my body and goes like this:
In pain as I’m lying on the ground after my fall, my mind says, “Hey, foot, what’s your problem? Couldn’t you have avoided that rock so we wouldn’t have been lying here in pain on the ground?” My foot says, “It’s not my fault! The eyes were looking at the flowers on the side of the trail.” My eyes are kind of sensitive to that comment, so they just burst into tears. My mind speaks up, “What’s all this boo-hooing? See if you can locate the first aid kit.” Quickly, my eyes find the first aid kit, and my arms and hands are able to wrap the bandage around the wound. The bleeding has now stopped. Feeling strong, my body is ready to continue the upward journey.
Romans 12:4-5
4 For as in one body we have many members,[e] and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
If I was just a foot, I couldn’t make this hike. If I was just a hand, I couldn’t make this hike. If I was just a mind, I couldn’t make this hike. Why? Because God gave me a whole body to function as one even though my body has many members. It takes all members working together as one to achieve the works assigned to us by God. In correlation to the church body, it takes all members of the church to act as one in Christ to make it possible to reach the summit together as one and experience the beauty of the Creator.
How does this actually become a reality in the church today? The church I attend forms small groups of people called Life Groups that meet together on a regular basis to discuss the Holy Scriptures, pray, and relate to one another on our journey to the summit. It’s definitely a group effort as each person ascends to the mountaintop by providing words of encouragement, holding out a helping hand when the trail gets bumpy and giving wisdom to choose the best path. Together, our Life Group has made hiked up steep and daunting rocks towards the summit because as a group we desire to draw closer to each other and also closer to the One True God. This is just one facet of the beauty of our Lord.
Discussions to make God known 