I live in a farming community and my husband is a farmer. He has a particular way that he likes to see a field worked, particular equipment he likes to use and a particular schedule to get his fields prepared for planting. In I Corinthians 3: 9 Paul uses a metaphor comparing the church to a field.
"For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building."
God's Field
Paul discusses the fact that he and Apollos were both doing the job that God required them to do. They both prepared the field, the church, in their own way. They are nothing important. Only God, who uses them to do His will, matters. As Paul says, "God gives the increase."
Christ is the Foundation
As one farmer does things one way to produce a good crop and another farmer has a different way that also produces a good crop, so preachers and teachers come and go but the thing that matters is that Christ is the foundation of their teaching and preaching. We are not to align ourselves with a person, but with Christ.
Act Like the Church
We are not to align ourselves with a building but with the One who builds. We are the church, not our beautiful places of worship. When we act like the church, the true church grows. When we fail to act it does not. What good is a field if it produces nothing? What good is a building without a firm foundation?
We Must Interact
How do we "act like the church"? We throw around this expression a lot but what does it really mean? We are, as our Lord tells us, a light to the world. If we stay to ourselves all the time and never interact with others, how can we be a light? It is easy to say we don't have time to get involved with other people but that is our duty as children of God. We are to show the world hope when it seems hopeless, to love when it seems no one does and to care when others do nothing.
Make a Difference
Being the church doesn't require anything especially difficult. It just means not looking the other way when we see that we can make a difference. Does your neighbor's yard who has been out of town for a few days need some trash picked up? Does your elderly neighbor need to be checked on? Does someone need a shoulder to lean on, or a listening ear just so they know someone cares? Can you help in your community by volunteering in some way? Do we go the extra mile? Remember, we serve because He served.
Take Your Opportunities
We are all so busy these days it seems. It feels like we are too busy to attend to the needs of others, but that is how we are used as salt and light. Even the smallest things we can do can make a difference in the lives of those around us. And if we have the opportunity to share Christ with them while we do it, so much the better. For those who are disabled and elderly, you can offer your prayers. Nothing is more needed now than that.
Why Are We In Church
If we believe the church is failing people these days perhaps, we should look inward. How are we failing Christ by not showing His love to others? Do we demand that those who preach and teach place Christ above everything else? Are we in church for a performance, for a feel-good message, for what WE can get from it, or are we there to worship our wonderful, loving God?
Sharing Ourselves
Years ago my pastor used to say that we should give God our time, our talents and our treasures. What we have in this world was given to us by Him, so it is our duty to share those blessings with others. We may find ourselves easily sharing our time but hesitant to share our talents. We may find ourselves sharing our treasures but jealously guarding our time. God wants us to open our hearts fully and completely to Him, so that people around us see Him in everything we do.
For more on what God expects of us click here.
Enjoy the hymn - He Wants it All by Forever Jones- here.
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