One Body in Christ

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:20-27; Hebrews 10:19-25

Sophia stared through the glass case at the tubs of ice cream. At first she wanted strawberry, but then she changed her mind. “Bubble gum, please.”

The woman behind the counter dropped two scoops onto a cone. Sophia thanked her and followed her mother to a table.

“Let’s sit by the window,” Mom said. “Hey, isn’t that your friend Mandy?”

Sophia took a seat and looked out the window. “Yeah. She’s not in my class this year, so I only see her at recess.”

Mom placed her purse on the table and sat down. “I didn’t see her at church last week.”

Sophia licked her ice cream. “They’re not going anymore. Mandy says they’re just having church at home with their own family.”

“Oh? Did she tell you why?”

“Not really. Her mom said something about the people at church being just as bad as the people who don’t go to church at all.” Sophia’s ice cream dripped down the cone.

“Well, she’s right that we’re all sinners,” Mom said. “Churches aren’t perfect because people aren’t perfect. That’s why we need Jesus. Church is where we serve Him together and remind one another of His love and forgiveness.”

“I remember my Sunday school teacher saying the church is like a body.” Sophia grabbed a napkin and wiped the melting ice cream off her hands. “One person is like a hand and another is like a foot. And Jesus is the head.”

“Exactly. Sometimes it’s difficult to get along with other members of the body, but we still need them.”

Sophia tried to listen, but the melting ice cream was getting out of control. Her mother glanced at the dripping cone and smiled. “You might think all you need to eat that ice cream is your mouth, but you’d be in a lot of trouble right now if you didn’t have your hands, wouldn’t you?”

Sophia laughed. “That’s for sure. This ice cream is messy!”

“Well, church can be messy too sometimes because it’s made up of sinful people. But that’s also why it’s so important—we need to help and encourage one another. Let’s pray that Mandy and her parents will come back to church so they can remind us of Jesus’ love when we mess up—and so we can do the same for them.” – Annika Klanderud

How About You?

Do you think it’s important to go to church? Or do you think it’s okay to go based on how you feel or whether it’s a holiday? Jesus doesn’t want us to try to live the Christian life on our own. We need to spend time together so we can encourage and keep one another on track when things get messy. We’re all part of the same body, and we need one another.

Today’s Key Verse:
Hebrews 10:25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another. (NLT)

Today’s Key Thought:

Church is important