The Correct Focus

 One thing that we occasionally need reminding regarding our identity...

I. We are a body

We may be a rather dissimilar collection of people on any given Sunday - but we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. And we should treat one another as family. And in some senses, some Churches are very good at that - they fight like brothers and sisters.

I have worked in Churches for over 30 years now. And one thing I have observed - some Christians can be the most wonderful, loving examples of what humbly following Jesus looks like. But some other Christians can be the most difficult people with which to get along. Notice I said 'some' - not most. But we are a body - a family - and every Church needs to learn to 'get along' in order to be about their higher purpose. Spiritually speaking, the Church is the body of Christ.

The Apostle Paul wrote about this body in a passage I used about 2 years ago at the beginning of the pandemic. And as we're now coming back together as a body - I thought it would be helpful to look at it again...

1 Corinthians 12:12-17, 24b - 27 (NIV)

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. (13) For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free - and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. (14) Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. (15) If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.

(16) And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. (17) If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? - (And I want to ahead skip to...) (24b) But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, (25) so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

(26) If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. (27) Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

A few months back I was dealing with pain in my arm. It was getting hard to pick up a gallon of milk and really hard to carry Augie with that arm - it just ached. I thought maybe I'd torn a muscle. I went to the Dr. and it turns out the problem was actually in my neck, in the nerve that runs down to my arm. He had me reach up and push on the side of my neck and I couldn't believe how tender it was and I hadn't really noticed before. I'd been focusing on the arm to fix the problem - but the issue was in my neck. The Dr. encouraged me to be in tune with my whole body.

After not being able to have big 'get togethers' here for the past two years - in just the past six weeks we've had four luncheons and an Easter breakfast. Kinda like going from 0 to 60 really fast, I know, maybe a bit much... But if we don't spend time with the whole body - how would we know which parts are suffering? We are each a part of one body - and even as I say that, we need to acknowledge that we are...

A. All different

Some of us are younger and others have a little more life experience. We all have different backgrounds, work and family experiences. We all have very different religious backgrounds and upbringings, different gifts and abilities given to us by God. We each have different political views and personalities and interests and preferences. Some of us are easy to get along with - some are more difficult, like me...

All those different things can complement each other and build up the body - or - if we let them, they can cause dissension and trouble. For instance, not everyone will like every song every Sunday. Not everyone will like every change that comes along. Not everyone here will be the 'biggest fan' of every other person here. As family - how do we manage that? The way we get along as the body is by focusing on the head - Jesus Christ.

We're all different and we won't all agree on everything. But I've shared the quote before, "Church is where I go to worship with people I don't necessarily like." But we can learn to love one another. We are a family and we are all different, but we are still called to unity. And that's not always easy. Again, Paul writes this in Ephesians 4:2-7 (NIV)...

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. (3) Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (4) There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - (5) one Lord, one faith, one baptism; (6) one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (7) But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.

I've got six kids - 5 by biology and one by adoption. All my kids are brothers and sister not by choice - but because of who their parents are.

You are my brother or sister, not by choice, but because of who our Father is. Now you may occasionally think that your brother is annoying - but we are family. We are all different, but we are all called to unity. That doesn't mean we'll be the very best of friends with everyone in this congregation all the time - that's not practical and probably won't ever happen. But it does mean that we are to treat everyone with love, with respect, because we are family - we have the same Father.

And as we live out our purpose - as a body - there is one learned skill that is essential for us to make this work. 'To each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.' And in turn, we are...

B. Called to show grace

None of us is perfect - my self included. I believe God only ever used one perfect preacher - and that was a long time ago. We will occasionally disagree. We will annoy one another. We will do mean things to each other - usually unintentionally, but sometimes even intentionally. You can't be in a Church full of imperfect people for any length of time and not have somebody do something to you. Imperfect people will do imperfect things. The only way to live as a body is to learn to show huge amounts of grace towards one another.

Now, the way it should work - if someone sins against you, if they do something mean or thoughtless to you - they should ask for forgiveness and you should forgive them. But what if they don't ask? I mean, it is their responsibility to apologize - but what if they don't? What's your responsibility then?

- In a relationship, you have two people. Let's say one of them somehow offends or hurts the other. The one who committed the transgression should apologize and the other should forgive them. The responsibility is on the one who did 'the bad thing'. But if they don't take responsibility - do they deserve forgiveness? ... And if they don't deserve forgiveness and none is extended - because it's not the responsibility of the individual who was hurt to make it right. What happens? That relationship remains broken.

If the focus is on whose responsibility it is to make things right rather than extending perhaps 'undeserved forgiveness' simply for the sake of the survival of that relationship - it's likely that that relationship will fail.

It's the same way with our relationships in the body, in the Church. Yes, if someone hurt you - it is their responsibility to seek forgiveness. But what if they don't...? What if they're young in the faith and don't know any better? What if they do know better but still don't take responsibility? What if they're oblivious to the hurt or, bluntly put - maybe they're just being a jerk..?

And that's not an excuse for people - we are supposed to grow up in our faith and not be rude or mean to people. But in these instances where someone in the body hurts you - what's most important? - Your rights, or the relationship?

Bottom line - if they are a baptized believer - they are my brother or sister in Christ. And if Jesus saw fit to die for them - what right do I have to withhold forgiveness? ... I can make all sorts or excuses as to why I'm justified, why they are the one in the wrong - why they should apologize to me - and I might even be right. But that's not grace. And it misses a big part of forgiveness. Jesus' words, right after He taught 'the Lord's Prayer' where he said, "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." - He then told them, in Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)...

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. (15) But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

They may not deserve your forgiveness - but I don't deserve the grace that Jesus has shown to me. ... Forgiving others benefits me as much as it does them. Why is grace among the body so crucial? Why is forgiveness and unity among our family so vital? So that together we can then focus on accomplishing...

II. The purpose of the body

There are some Christians who waste a lot of time and energy bickering and fighting with their brothers and sisters. Imagine if that time and energy was spent telling others about Jesus.

We're not just supposed to overlook our differences, be gracious with one another, come together in unity just for the sole purpose of having a nice, peaceful place for us to gather for an hour or so on a Sunday morning. Unity is not an end in itself but the means to an end, a goal - to preach Jesus! If you have a nice Church that loves each other - but never talks about Jesus outside of these walls - you don't really have a Church, you have a social club. You have an organization that makes as much eternal difference as a garden club. (No offense to garden clubs...)

Peter said about Jesus, in Acts 4:12 (NIV)...

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

One purpose of the Church is to help you live a better life, to give you community, to give you a larger family. Learning to get along and forgive does help you; it makes your life easier. And helping you live a good life is nice - but it's not the complete purpose of the Church. Jesus' goal in this life is not to make you completely happy, safe or comfortable in this life - but to make you more like Jesus! - To mold you and shape you for His purposes! We are to be unified, as a body, as a family, in order to also show the love of Jesus to those who are lost!

We can focus on all sorts of good things - but if we do not preach Jesus, that preaching is ultimately useless. Last week, we just celebrated the most incredible event in all of history - the death and resurrection of Jesus!

Salvation comes through Jesus Christ and it comes through His sacrifice on the cross. That's why we offer communion here every week. We commemorate, reflect upon, mourn and even celebrate Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for our sins. There are some Churches who avoid mentioning the cross, or the blood of Jesus. Because, let's face it - the cross is an instrument of torture and talking about blood is kind of unpleasant. But I wholeheartedly agree with Paul when he wrote...

1 Corinthians 1:18 (NIV)

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

To those outside the Church - proclaiming that God came down in the flesh only to be killed on a cross - that doesn't sound much like victory. But when we preach Jesus - we know the story doesn't end at the cross.

So What?

You take a simple little 'penlight' flashlight and there's enough light to illuminate a few feet so you can see. But if you focus that light, that same energy in a laser - even in a small laser - that light can shine several miles! But if that light isn't focused and amplified - it's effect is greatly reduced.

When we focus on anything but Jesus - we don't have any power. I've seen many congregations; many Churches who have let disagreements and personalities get in the way of focusing on the mission of the Church. I've seen people let hurts and offenses from brothers and sisters drive them away from the Father. That can't stand.

We are a body, a family with a purpose - to Know Jesus, to Grow in our relationship with Him and with others, and to then Go serve and Go share the Good News of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection.

IF - as I've been speaking this morning, there has been an incident or a particular disagreement that came to mind - maybe you thought about a specific person - someone who either you hurt or was hurt by you. - You, as much as it is in your power, you make it right today. Don't let pain or pride or anything else keep you from being gracious with a brother or sister.

When we can get past all the stupid things we will do to each other or the things about which we will argue or bicker - when we can get past those things and focus on Jesus; when we can focus on our Father - God can do amazing things through us as a Church. There are lost people that we know who need Jesus. Let's focus on that and talk to someone about Jesus this week!