In relation to the church body, I was thinking about how important it is to be around people that can motivate and help you grow. The Holy Spirit began to show me how much work folks put into meal preps. Daily and weekly, people are prepping meals in all kinds of ways and fashions. I’d happen to come across a video that seemed like a really good meal prep segment. It had all the bells and whistles like the latest snap containers, background music, graphic art designs, and such. However, with all of that going on, there were multiple containers of the same food at the end of the video….for at least a week! I was shocked!
Have we forgotten about the nutritional value of the actual food going into our body? Are we going to a beautifully set-up church or churches awed by only the sound of the worship team, the projection screens and technology, the wealth status or looks of the people that attend, the coffee, tea, and pastries, and the feel good, no accountability messages that don’t provoke you to step out into the deep? Are we partaking of a message that is the repeat of the same chicken, rice, broccoli, and fruit when we really may need a bowl of tasty, stewed lentils, homemade cornbread, cucumbers, and grapes?
I pondered these questions and reflected on my current church. In Ephesians 4:11-13 in the NLT translation says, “11. He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists and the pastors and teachers. 12. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, 13. until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.”
Could it be that you’re attending a church that doesn’t provide a “balanced meal” approach to Jesus? All the fancy work-outs and healthy eating in the natural can’t equate to “starving-to-death” from lack of spiritual nourishment.
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of feasting on the same old food in forms of sermons and bible studies. I want to sit down with the many parts of the body and partake of the more…the preaching, teaching, healing, nurturing, giving, administering, building, helping, and so forth. It’s tasty and smells good! It’s fresh and full of nutrients! It’s vital to your own body for survival and completion of the task at hand.
Holy Spirit, I ask that You would bring about a mighty revelation about what it means to be well-balanced in your church body. Just like in the natural with food that marinates, may your word never taste the same when we encounter You! May the revelation of who you are offer up a deeper flavor and a more mature response that will sustain each of us on the journey of Your plans and purposes for our lives. In the famous words of Julia Childs, “Bon Appetit!”-In Jesus Name.
