There is a lady who knows a great deal about neediness, desperate dependence, reliance, and what it actually looks like to receive the Kingdom of God LIKE A CHILD (Mark 10:15). For her, it’s not mere head knowledge – it’s experiential knowledge; she is a woman who has not only recognized her neediness, but relishes the reality that all the fitness He requires is to feel our need of Him. She wholeheartedly embraces the liberty that is her’s in Christ to stir up her brothers and sisters (her fellow body members) to love and good works (Matthew 20:26-28), not neglecting to meet together with them, as is the habit of some, but encouraging them, and all the more as we see the Day drawing near (Hebrews 10:24-25).
Here’s what she says:
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. –I Corinthians 12:27
Last Sunday during Communion, I watched the plate of little crackers being passed down my row. I took note of how the well-dressed people in the pew ever so carefully lift their ‘pinkie’ and aim for a cracker piece so as to not touch the others. My friend sitting next to me reached in to get crackers for us both. At the appropriate time, she lifted my piece to my mouth, and afterward, the other piece to hers. The fact is I just can’t take Communion by myself. I’m forced to depend on another Christian friend to handle my bread for me. The wine, too.
I used to feel embarrassed that I couldn’t so much as pick up a cracker, but that’s changed. I’ve learned to look at my situation differently. Asking for help makes me feel connected. Interdependent. One with others. It’s a happy symbol of how closely I must live my life with fellow believers. I can’t live my life alone and isolated. In fact, I couldn’t even survive. Here’s the point: communion celebrates this sort of unity in the body. It’s something we have to learn and relearn every day of our lives as we humbly lean hard on others for help. You and I desperately need Jesus Christ. And you and I desperately need his people.
– Joni Eareckson Tada
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