Sometimes when I think about what is happening with my daughter I can barely breathe. I seem to have a constant pit in my stomach. I went for a long run on Friday and the pit went away for a while, but yesterday it returned; so I went running again. And today is another day. Many of you understand, from your own difficult experience, exactly what I'm saying, and I love you for that.
It's hard to believe it has only been ten days since we were told our twelve year old daughter, Kaylee, has ovarian cancer. Last week I wrote some reflections on God's purpose in our pain. That message is located at:
http://gdwm.org/index.php/2013/01/his-purpose-in-pain/
I guess I would say we have had a difficult, but blessed, week. Difficult because of all the emotions, doctor visits, phone calls, insurance coordination, packing, and travel. Blessed by the rapid transition to one of the best cancer hospitals in the world, and also by the overwhelming outpouring of love. Kaylee has received cards and gifts from her basketball team, her school friends, and her church youth group. Each group of kids is praying and has provided her with many Bible passages of comfort. The parents of each of these groups, as well as our church, have reached out to us with encouragement, prayer and support. Of course, you in the email world, from all around the world, have flooded my in-box with messages of encouragement and prayer. Several of you even called the hospital resulting in a wonderful visit from Connie in Patient Affairs. Thank you so very much! Kaylee is scheduled for surgery at 10:00 on Tuesday morning at M.D. Anderson in Houston, TX. Your prayers during this time are appreciated.
As our family has been on the receiving end of so much love I have had the opportunity to reflect on what it means to be a part of the Body of Christ. I admit that I have had a love-hate relationship with the church for many years. I love the church because it is clear that Christ loves the church and it remains part of His ongoing plan. But I have also found myself discouraged with what has been done in the past, and what continues to be done today, in the name of Christ and His church. Perhaps I realize, through what I have experienced this week, that there are times when the church acts like the Body of Christ, and many times when the church actually works against His Body.
1 Corinthians 12:24-27
"But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."
God put the body together - the Body of Christ, of which each one of us is a part - so that there should be no division. Really? If that is true, and we believe it is, then the times when the church acts in ways which create division are not times when it is acting as the Body of Christ. These are times when the church is not walking in submission to the Spirit of God. Unfortunately, the church has often been characterized by fighting and hate rather than unity. Somewhere in the quest to be "right" they lost the directive to have equal concern and to love: "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:2-3).
The fights of the early church against the Arians, Donatists, and Pelagians, as well as the many groups with differing understandings of Christ, resulted in much more than exclusion from fellowship. They resulted in wars and executions; done in the name of the church. In the sixteenth century more divisions occurred, resulting in thousands upon thousands of deaths. Again, done in the name of truth and right; as if these actions were part of God's plan for His creation. Every single century contains unimaginable horror in which the church demonstrates the disconnect between itself and the loving Body of Christ; "Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves" (Romans 12:10).
In our present day we have generally stopped killing one another over theological differences, and this is good! But we still carry the quest to be right, and maintain the self-given authority to exclude, to spiritually execute, those who do not agree. Our fights today are over such things as Spiritual gifts, the return of Christ, the role of the church, the role of women, the purpose of works, the extent of grace, the inspiration of scripture, and the purpose of hell. The church is so divided that it is a wonder anyone is ever drawn inside.
And yet, the Body of Christ is beautiful; "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 through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:4-6). This week we have experienced the Body of Christ at its very best. We experienced love and compassion; "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn" (Romans 12:15). We experienced a unified family; "so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others" (Romans 12:5). Perhaps this is how we experience Christ.
I long for the day when the church is unified in love. Unity does not mean we all need to hold to the same beliefs or understanding of scripture. But it does mean we refuse to divide or compromise our command to love. Let's take an honest look at how we have come to identify Christianity and how we define our local church. Then, please, let's focus more of our effort into loving one another (all the one anothers) and truly live as the Body of Christ.
