One In Christ

Today I am posting something that was a collaborative effort between my 13 year old daughter and myself. This is the speech she delivered for 8th grade girls speech this year at the Lads to Leaders convention. She worked hard on finding, researching and studying the passages used. She made extensive notes about what the words from the Bible meant and I was her assistant in finding her words to describe what she had discovered. Needless to say, I am very proud of all of my children and I want to take this opportunity to show you just one of the reasons why. Happy reading!

"I am an individual. On my own, I am capable of doing many things. However, as much as I may want to, I cannot do everything. I love to play the violin. I have always thought that the violin that is beautiful to play and to listen to. I never realized how amazing it could be until I joined an orchestra. At first, I wondered how this odd sounding part that I was learning would end up sounding like music. It was nice but it sounded incomplete, unfinished, and unpolished. I soon discovered it was only one part of the entire piece of music. Violins, violas, cellos, double basses and a few other instruments gathered together. We all had different parts that alone sounded like a bit of a mess at times but then, my teacher raised her baton and motioned us to play all of our different parts at the same time. I couldn't believe my ears! It was absolutely amazing. When all the instruments came together with their different parts it created a harmony that I could never produce on my own.

Ephesians 4:1-7 says “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience and love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – one Lord, one Faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”

In this passage, Paul is writing about the importance of unity in the “body” of Christ and the blessings of grace and hope being a part of that body gives. He urges the Ephesians and all Christians to examine their attitudes toward the work for the Lord and be sure that they are humble, gentle, patient, loving and eager to replicate the oneness of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit and to be unified by the assurance that one hope, one faith, and one baptism brings. This was a real problem for the church of the first century and, if we are honest with ourselves, it is a real problem for us today.

Like I said before, I am an individual and I am quite content to remain an individual on most days. I love my friends and family but at times I just want to do it myself. I am overwhelmed by popular figures in music, television, and movies that encourage me to just be me and to forget about everyone else because I am really all that matters. I am told to focus on my own unique talents and abilities and rely solely on them because me, my, and mine are the only things that will ever really matter. However, as a Christian, it is my responsibility to fight against a selfish attitude and focus on the oneness of Christ and His Church. That’s really hard to do. That is why Paul was guided by the Holy Spirit to remind us that Christians, while we do all have different gifts from God that are to be celebrated we must share our resources and work together. On many occasions in his writings Paul uses the example of a body to describe Christ’s church.

In 1 Corinthians 12:12-20 we read “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body…For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member where would the body be? There are many parts, yet one body.”

Every Christian is different and we all possess different talents, but, this does not divide us as the world might have us believe. We are to use these differences and work together toward a common goal. This can be really difficult to accomplish even when we realize it’s what we need to do. Especially when our different personalities clash, but we are not exempted from striving toward unity just because it is hard.

Christians are to experience a bond with one another which unites them in common fellowship. God did not design us to live out our faith in isolation. He designed the church to function as a community of believers, a body with Christ holding us together as our head. Ephesians 4:15-16 says: “We are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”   

I love the violin. I love the music that I can make on my own it’s good and I enjoy learning my part. But, when I play with the entire orchestra it is more than good, it transforms into something beautiful and powerful. It makes more sense and accomplishes the goal intended by the composer and the conductor. I can do so much for Christ and His church on my own and it’s good to do that. But, when I work with the entire body, it is more than good, it transforms into something beautiful and powerful. It makes more sense and accomplishes the goal intended by God The Father, His Son, and His Holy Spirit."