“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and in all…Submit, therefore, to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 4:4-6, 5:21).
Did you see that?
- One body
- One Spirit
- One hope
- One Lord
- One faith
- One baptism
- One God
Gee, I wonder what Paul was trying to say?
If Jesus is Lord, you belong to his church because the church is the body of Christ. You cannot be committed to Jesus without being committed to his body. That’s impossible. Yet many, sadly, try. It is impossible to follow Christ apart from being committed to the church.
The reason why commitment is so important is because commitment is the glue that holds you to faith when things get yucky relationally. If you stay in the church long enough, because the church is made up of repeat sinners like you and me, we are bound to offend one another.
When offense occurs, the first response is flight. Get the heck out of dodge. Yuck! I don’t want to deal with this yucky person in this yucky situation.
If you do that you are missing out. You will never grow and mature in the faith. You will never grow and mature in your relationship. What you don’t realize is that growth and maturity for you and your relationship lies just on the other side of yucky situations. It’s only by working through the yucky situations that you grow in maturity and relational intimacy.
If you run, you will stunt your growth and maturity. And, if you run, you will find yourself running again and again. Because if you stick around repeat sinners long enough, yucky situations are bound to come.
So, what is the solution? Paul tells us: “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Stay in it. Stay committed. Work it out. Submit to Christ. Submit to one another. Grow up! Mature! So, commit to the Lord’s body, the church of Jesus Christ. Show up. Keep showing up and work it out. That’s how God works.
Praxis: Faith in Action 