Build Together
When I was a senior in high school, we had a terrible fire in Loudoun County. Our 4-H fairgrounds had four barns used for the annual 4-H fair. These barns were pole barns and used to house our 4-H animals during the fair. My father was president of the fairgrounds, so he was involved around the clock. All four barns caught fire and had to be re-built or there would be no 4-H fair.
The whole county jumped on this project and within the month, all the barns were rebuilt. The telephone company sent crews to set the poles. Carpenters by the dozen showed up to put roofs on these barns. Lumber came from everywhere and truckloads of metal roofing showed up. Different groups brought in food, and work went on almost around the clock. A few days before the annual 4-H fair, we had four new barns.
This is a good picture of God’s vision for the church and our role in it. The Bible says, “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” (I Corinthians 12:27) Each of us in the church has different skills and gifts, but together we can accomplish the miraculous. Ephesians 4:16 says we “fit together perfectly.” Galatians 6:2 says we’re encouraged to “carry each other’s burdens.”
We sometimes are strange people. We often want to go it alone. We keep our needs to ourselves, and way too often we want control of our circumstances. Many times we fail to reach out and help shoulder the weight of others’ needs. God wants us to connect with others. God knows that miraculous things happen when we work together and we pray for the needs of others. It’s only when we depend on others that we can experience what God has planned for us. His amazing plan for our lives becomes clear when we work together. For the church to be the church that God intends for His people, we must work together!
Prayer – God, I know I sometimes shut others out. Help me to reach out and invite them in. We know that your church is for all of us, and it takes each of our gifts and graces to be who you intend it to be. Amen.
Ephesians 4:16 – “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly.”
Author: Tommy Herndon
Photo: Randy Fath, courtesy of Unsplash
