Together as One: A Lent DevotionalSample

Day 2: Together with the body of Christ

Did you know you have unique, God-given gifts? I love the way that Paul describes us as ‘belonging’ to one another. That means our gifts aren’t just for us; they’re given to us by God so that we might serve and bless each other. Your relationship with Jesus is precious and unique, but you are also part of a bigger story: the story of the body of Christ.

As followers of Jesus, we’re working together for a common purpose – to see God’s kingdom come on earth. We each come in different shapes and sizes, with individual skills and passions, but together we form one body with one aim – to look and act like Christ.

Does that sound like your local church? For Pastor Sakala in Zambia, it was this vision of belonging to one another that completely transformed his church…

Beyond the building

For years Pastor Sakala struggled to get his rural church up and running. His congregation would increase in number and then fall again. It was discouraging and very hard work. But the turning point came when he was invited to attend Tearfund’s Transforming Communities training. He says, ‘We were taught about resource mobilisation, and I realised that, as a church, we had resources we were not using.’

With new-found enthusiasm, Pastor Sakala went back to his church and began teaching them about working together. They started a community church building project, each person using skills and resources they already had. Pastor Sakala says, ‘It was like a dream seeing a community coming together like this’. This struggling church with no place to meet suddenly had a new building, built by the community members, and grew from 28 to 135! He says that his church is now ‘salt and light’ and an example to the community.

The purpose of God’s church is not to build church buildings. As Paul says, it’s to form one body where all the members belong to each other and work together to see God’s kingdom come. For Pastor Sakala, building the church was just the first step in his community’s journey to transformation. He is now a facilitator of Tearfund's Transforming Communities training and has helped seven local churches achieve this same vision of working together to solve problems in their community.

What is vital, for real and lasting transformation in any community, is that the body acts as one in Christ.

Reflect

• How has God uniquely equipped you to bless others? Reflecting on the passage, think about how your abilities and passions can contribute to the healthy functioning of the body of Christ.
• What do you have in your hands? What are the resources and practical skills that you could use to serve God, his church and your community?
• Who could you bless today with one of these gifts? Ask God to bring someone to mind.

Pray

Heavenly Father,

Thank you that, through Jesus, you provide not just a saviour, but a family. As we each become one with Christ, we also become one with each other – one family, one body, one church, but with many members.

Today, help me to learn my part in your body. Reveal to me the skills, abilities and gifts you have given me. Help me use them to become more like Christ and to help my local community become more like Christ as well.

I pray for local churches around the world who are partnering with Tearfund to lift their communities out of poverty. Equip them to be salt and light in their communities and to bring lasting transformation to people’s lives.

Please help my own church to be a blessing to our community as we learn to be one body with many members, each actively participating for your glory and to see your kingdom come.

In Jesus’ name, amen.