SUPPORT

by Barbara Chadwick                                                

 

“The problem with your thumb is tendonitis. You must wear this brace to support your wrist and thumb.”  The Dr.’s pronouncement was firm.

Tendons and ligaments are connective tissue. Ligaments connect tissue to bone and tendons connect tissue to muscle. Each one is necessary for the body to function properly. When they’re damaged or torn they cause pain and dysfunction.

The church body is like that also. Have you known people who seem to be spiritually wounded or damaged?  Words and actions are either like darts or spears or like balm to the body. They can either sever relationships or heal the connective tissue of the church.

Just as the physical body is made up of different parts – each one necessary – the church body is composed of different parts. The Apostle Paul tells us in I Corinthians 12:12 …as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body; so also is Christ, - and verse 27: Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.   Then in Ephesians 4:15-16 he says, But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head – Christ. From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.

Relationships are like connective tissue. They need to be supported and nourished. Paul’s words are firm. He uses the command form as he shows us how we can do this throughout Ephesians:

1.      Be forgiving – 5:32

2.      Be compassionate – 5:32

3.      Be kind – 5:32

4.      Walk in love – 5:1

5.      Be imitators of God – 5:1

6.      Render service with a good attitude, as to the Lord – 6:7

7.      Be strengthened by the Lord – 6:10

8.      …your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace – 6:15

9.      In every situation take the shield of faith – 6:16

10.  No rotten talk should come out of your mouth, but only what is good for the building up of someone in need in order to give grace to those who hear. – 5:29

So let us build up the body of Christ in love so the church can function properly; so people can see God’s grace and love in action, through words and deeds that imitate Him. Be a supporting ligament! Support each relationship, each connective tissue, if you will, with smiles, hugs, and encouraging words!