On the way home Wes and I were talking because one our other good friends, Runks, is in town this weekend. Runks' story is one of heartache, desperation, and rescue and if you ever hear that he is near you, please go hear him speak. Anyways, Runks has talked to me about how the church shoots its wounded so often. When people with struggles or pains that are "unspeakables" such as addiction (to anything), homosexuality, anger with God, or anything along those lines, when we can't go to church and be totally open and honest with ourselves and others about our lives, that just seems like such a tragedy, that probably everyone has been a part in, on both sides.
As I was talking to Wes, it got me thinking about shooting our wounded, which got me thinking about what a wound is and how our body reacts to a wound.
Romans 12:5 says "so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."
I was never that good at biology, but I remember in health and biology learning about how our bodies heal themselves. If a foreign entity enters our body that is trying to harm us, our body rallies together and attacks the sickness. These microscopic parts of our body arm up for battle and race to the front lines to get rid of whatever is trying to harm us. They don't give up, run away, or talk about how gross that is and are glad they don't have to deal with it. They fight for the body.
Jesus usually uses terms that man can relate to, and by Him calling us a body, it seems like we should act like what a real body acts like. I googled "how our bodies heal themselves" and there were tons of medical articles talking about all the different ways our bodies can do that. It was awesome to read about! So instead of us shooting our wounded, we should fight for our wounded. We need to be a body that heals itself. The news is filled with ministers and members from every denomination getting "caught" doing something they are ashamed of. They are called out, berated, and usually abandoned. Observational learning is one of the biggest ways humans learn. So when we see what happens to someone like that (who may have been doing exactly what we are doing) we protect ourselves from that abuse, tuck it away, and continue to infect the body.
Why can't I always be a part in healing our body? Why do I not feel comfortable sharing struggles with other Christians sometimes? Why don't I act like a part of the body all the time?
In raising Eli, my prayer is that he will come to know Jesus in an intimate way, and that he will be a part of the body. He won't hurt those who are already hurting. He won't look away in someone's time of need. And that he will learn to fight for the body.
6 comments:
Whoa...you were up early today girl! What a mom...
Good stuff...really good. And, isn't it interesting that our immune systems are what work to keep our bodies healthy enough to fight off infection? Just like our physicals bodies need sleep, proper nutrition, and exercise to maintain a healthy immune system, our spiritual bodies need time with Christ, prayer, fellowship, and intimacy with God to keep ourselves strong enough to fight for the hurting or infected (including ourselves). We always think we can do it all ourselves....
We are stupid.
Like you, my prayer for my son (and daughter) is that he'll know the Lord intimately and love Him and His children.
Your son looks like such a delight:) I love when my new son smiles, although I don't really know if he's aware of what he's doing yet.
It's interesting that we have sons so close together. Isn't it awesome being a mommy?! I LOVE IT!
Great post!
I dont know why mine isnt that big. You can use photoshop and make it smaller then save it and attach that picture. Do you know how everyone has cute fonts on their headings?
Amanda, you know that I don't share your faith, but this post was really beautiful, and completely proves me right. "Right about what," you ask, so I'll tell you. Every time I have ever spoken with someone about you, (and I have, frequently, even when we were out of contact) I have told them "Amanda is the best person I know. She is exactly what a Christian should be, and it is her example that makes me wish for faith." Thought you should know.
Thanks so much for posting about this conversation you had. Not only was the issue of the body and how we care for those who are hurting an encouragement, but it was also an encouragement to read about another couple who have such rich, refining conversations with one another. I pray that you and Wes will savor such times, since we both know that schedules can easily rob us of sweet time with those we love if we let it do so.
Also, have you ever heard of the book The Dangerous Book for Boys? It's one that many pastors and dads have recommended here -- an entire book about all things pertaining to being a boy (i.e. how to make things, etc.). Just thought you might be interested! I don't remember the author, but if you go to Lifeway online I'm sure you can find it.
Hope you had a great weekend!
right on! we should be encouraging and not bringing each other even more down than they already are. hmm...lots of changes to make, huh?
by the way, love the second picture of eli. ADORABLE!!
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