There is hardly any human need stronger than the need to belong. We were created this way. Every one of us came out of a womb screaming for warmth, companionship, and someone else’s heartbeat. We were rudely ripped out of that idyllic existence and thrust into a cold, impersonal, and lonely world. No wonder babies cry. And the rest of our lives are spent trying to find that intimacy again. Everyone knows what this was because everyone had the same experience once – being so close to another that a heartbeat was a constant companion – and everyone knows that reuniting with others is a part of our common purpose in life. No man is an island.
Jesus prayed, «My prayer for all of them [his disciples and us] is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father – that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me.» (John 17:21)
We were made to be together. We often think only in terms of our own spiritual lives and forget the fact that God is saving a people to come together for his glory. Salvation is not just an individual matter; it’s a group effort. It is when the Church functions as a whole that we give evidence to who we really are – the Body of Christ. That’s the Body of Christ, not the individual of Christ. No one can reflect, alone, who God made us to be. His will is expressed in all of us together. Together we are the Bride of Christ. (My grammar checker doesn’t like that last sentence because this concept challenges even our language. Since when is «bride» plural?) I am not the Bride; you are not the Bride. We are only the Bride in completion with all other believers in history and in the world. This is all part of God’s plan to bring us back together where we can hear each other’s heartbeat and experience the oneness that Jesus has with the Father. Jesus prayed that we would be all wrapped together in our oneness – us in Christ and Christ in the Father. I can’t really fathom this; I only know it’s very warm and intimate in there.
So what does this mean for you and me today? It means we are not alone. We know where we belong. We need to give priority to our relationships with other believers because who we are depends on it. There is no such thing as individual spiritual growth. Check your calendar; arrange some lunches, and invite some neighbors over. Time put into people is time committed to God and his purposes.
John Fischer resides in Southern California with his wife, Marti and son, Chandler. They also have two adult children, Christopher and Anne. John is a published author and popular speaker.
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Es esposo de la mejor mujer, padre de 2 hijos maravillosos, pastor y director de Desafío Joven. En los últimos 12 años ha trabajado con jóvenes, padres y líderes juveniles. Estudio en Rhema Bible Training Center. Su servicio con la palabra de Dios se ha extendido por más de 27 países en 13 idiomas. Es director ejecutivo y consultor de varios ministerios cristianos, desarrollando conferencias, cursos bíblicos, libros, estudios, devocionales, vídeos y recursos para la vida espiritual.
Toda carne es hierba, y todo su esplendor es como flor del campo. (Isaiás 40:6)
Hierba – “La diferencia entre la verdad y la ficción necesita tener sentido.” Eso dijo el coronel ex -comunista en la película reciente, El Internacional. Este guión es grandioso. Esperamos que nuestras novelas tengan sentido. Debe haber una resolución. Claro que la vida no es ficción.
Esta es la quinta frase que pronunció Jesús en la cruz, después de las tres horas de desamparo. Sus heridas físicas y su lucha moral le provocaban una ardiente sed. Pero no fue por esto, principalmente, que dijo: "Tengo sed". En la cruz, como durante toda su vida, Jesús siempre hizo la voluntad de Dios. A pesar de su intenso sufrimiento, exclamó: "Tengo sed", porque la Sagrada Escritura anunciaba de antemano: "En mi sed me dieron a beber vinagre" (Salmo 69:21).
¡Pastor, estoy desanimado! Quiero explicarle por qué. Soy Tomás, uno de los empresarios en su iglesia. Necesito aliento, necesito ayuda, necesito saber qué tengo que hacer como hombre de negocios cristiano. Sin embargo, antes de que me juzgue a mí y a otros en mi situación, déjeme compartirle las razones de mi desaliento.
La primera es la tentación. Mi lugar de trabajo está en medio del mundo de Satanás. Es un lugar en el que, francamente, las convicciones cristianas no tienen cabida. Mi empleador y mis compañeros de trabajo no valoran la integridad. El camino a la oficina es el camino al mundo de Satanás. La fricción entre el mundo y los cristianos es difícil de enfrentar.
