one body

Wednesday December 30th, Colossians 3: 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Imagine that!!! Since we are members of one body, we are called to live in peace. A building divided cannot stand, a nation divided cannot stand, and a world divided does not do so well either. One of the issues to deal with when one has had a transplant is rejection, if the body rejects the new part, depending on the part, it could lead to death. When the body fights against itself, death is the result. The same is true for the body of Christ, you and I and the people we don’t like in this world. Peace is what we are called to seek as the body of Christ. Often we try to do this by narrowing the definition of what the body of Christ is, our church, our religion, our faith, our neighborhood, city, county, state or nation. Jesus kept pushing the boundaries of the body of Christ outward with stories like the Good Samaritan or the Sheep and Goats, and questions like which one acted like a neighbor thereby putting the ownership of a limited view on us and not “them.” This New Year and decade, let us more toward Peace in the expanded view of Christ, the one that contains no “them.” And remember that every time you draw a line in the sand….. Jesus is on the other side.