Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. (1 Peter 2:10)
What is the difference between being associated by geography, and being associated by blood? Imagine an airport. You are going through the security checkpoint, and there are lots of other people around. You all have a common goal, to get through the line and get on a plane. You are all doing similar action steps to get there. But your connection with these other people is very temporary. The only thing that ties you together is that you happen to be in the same place at the same time. In a few hours, you will all fly away in different directions, and never be in the same room as a large group again.
Now picture yourself at a family reunion. You are in a large group. Some people you know well, others not so well. You all have different interests and goals. Some people live far away from one another. But you have one thing in common—you’re family. You belong, simply because of who you are. Church is like that. Christians belong to one another, not because they happen to be in the same room at the same time, but because they share a common link through the blood of Jesus Christ. Though many people treat church like a place they attend, Scripture reminds us that we are a people who belong to one another and to God.
Get to know someone new at your church this Sunday.
Jarod Osborne is lead pastor of Pathway [Wesleyan] Church, in Warsaw, Indiana. He is the author of Jaded Faith (WPH).
© 2023 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
