ASK #018 - Lone Ranger Christians

 written:  January 29th, 2022

Lone Ranger Christian

I John 4:20 NKJV

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

We are called to love one another in Christ; to hate is to wish death upon someone.  We are called to be in communion and fellowship with others.  We are to be encouragers to our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We are not Lone ranger Christians. 

1 John 1:5-10

Fellowship with Him and One Another

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

We are part of one body and Christ is the Head.  We are not all the same; God has created us as individuals and molded each of us in a special way to be a part of his body.  A body needs all the parts in order to function properly; we need our arms, legs, feet, etc.  If you take a moment to stand in front of a mirror and just notice your body.  God has created it in an amazing way.  There are two major parts to the body…the head and the torso.  The head is the control center and the torso is the biggest part containing the members of the body as a whole; such as the arms, legs, etc.  But these members are all attached to the biggest part of the body the torso.  This is a good example of the church and how it works.  Christ is the head of the church or the control center and the torso represents the church body and all its members.  This is a pretty incredible statement.  Christ is the head however we are the church body and the way Christ is shown to the world.  We are the hands and feet of Christ.  

It is a body with many members, and yet it is tied to only one body.  It is not many bodies, many denominations.  They are all tied together by sharing the same life, and they are tied to the head so that they function as His means of expressing His life to the world.

I Corinthians 12:17 (RSV)

If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing?  If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell.    

This verse really shows us how important each one of us is for His kingdom.  He created each one of us for a purpose and specifically for His design.  

I Corinthians 12:18 (RSV)

But as it is, God arranged the organs in the body, each one of them, as He chose.  If all were a single organ, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.  

So this verse tells us that we are placed exactly where we are supposed to be in the body of Christ; where we live, work and play, and the people that we are incontact with.  These are all ways God has planned and created us.  God wants us to use the gifts that He has given us for His glory right where we are and to influence those around us to grow His kingdom.  

So let us go back to the verse from the book of John 4:20 where we are told to love our brothers/sisters.  God wants us to be a unified body for Christ and we cannot do this if we have hate for our brothers and sisters in Christ.  

I will wrap up with this though…

1 Corinthians 12:24025 (RSV)

But God has so composed the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior part, that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

So remember to keep asking, seeking and knocking and Christ will roll the stones away even those boulders that seem immovable between brothers and sisters in Christ.  We are one body with Christ as the head.  We were not designed to be Lone Ranger Christians'.  We are designed for fellowship and love with others while giving the glory and honor to Christ.