United We Are Christ

Many parts.  One body.

Jesus is the vine.  We are the branches.

If we remain, better yet, abide in Christ we are united.  We are joined in him.  It is because of him that we even exist as Christians.  Heck, it's because of him we exist at all!  A branch separated from the vine withers, dies, and blows away in the wind.  A finger not connected to a hand is useless.

A believer not connected to Jesus is as useless.

The nourishment and life a grapevine needs starts in the roots.  Through the roots up through the vine.  Only then does it go out to the branches.  The nourishment and life a follower of Jesus needs starts Word.  Through the Word through the Vine and into the branches.  Jesus is both the Word and the Vine.  He is what brings life internally, and holds us together.

The disciple John says this,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

Plants also need light.  At least most of them do.  A process called photosynthesis where the plant transforms light into life.  Jesus is also the Light.  He brings life from outside of ourselves.  That blows my mind when I think about that.

Jesus is what makes us exist.  He is also what nourishes us from the inside.  He also brings life from the outside.

How incredibly, uncannily, awesome is that!?

Creator.  Nourishment.  Sustenance.

He created us.  Humans beings.  You.  Me.  But he doesn't stop there.  He didn't set the machine in motion and walk away.  He also brings us life internally.  Through his spirit.  This is the comforter he was telling the disciples about before they headed for Gethsemane.  So where is his outside sustenance found?

In other believers.

We build each other up.  We encourage one another.  We bring correction when needed.  We challenge and push when lethargy and complacency draw close.  We teach, preach, prophesy.  I know I've said this again and again, but they aren't my words.  Matthew 25:35-36 records Jesus' own words,

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.

  He also tells the disciples that people will know they are his followers by their love.  Our love.  How we treat one another, and those around us.  Jesus isn't calling us to love an ideal.  He's not asking us to embrace dogma or a facility or a paradigm.  He is telling us to love each other.  Regardless of what we wear Sunday morning.  Or if we gather Monday nights instead.

As Christians, and I completely include myself in this criticism, we often replace the teachings of Jesus for traditions or programs.  We think that if we just do these few things consistently, in the right manner, we'll have a better chance of staying pure or faithful.  Maybe there is some truth to that.  But it becomes deceptively easy to replace the love for Jesus with the dedication to a ritual.

Correct me if I'm wrong, seriously, but I'm pretty sure God got fed up with his children when they were offering meaningless sacrifices and holding pointless celebrations.  Check out Isaiah for starters. 

"The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?” says the Lord.

That is Isaiah 1:11.  Seriously, keep reading that book.  There is some powerful stuff there.  The rituals and traditions are not what nourish and sustain us.  That can only be found in Christ alone.  In him we live, and move and have our being!  (Acts 17:28)

Yes, there are divisions in the Church.  That in itself does not mean the Church is divided.  I know it just seems like wordplay, but it's the truth.  God is not divided, yet he is three in one.  Why would his body be any different?  He created us in his image after all.  A branch is part of the vine, not another branch.  If we abide, remain, belong to, rooted in, Jesus...well we are part of the vine.

Separate but united.

Divided we stand...but United we are Christ!

grace, peace + hope

-Bear