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The Body

             For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (Romans 12:4-5)

          Recently, my brain kicked in as I locked the deadbolt on my back door. As I turned the key left, it said, “Elvis has left the building.” I chuckled. When I came back home and unlocked the door, it chirped up with “You have the right to enter.” I nearly teared up. I’ve lived in this house nearly all my life, but for most of that time, it was my parents’ house. Even once it was signed over, it was my parents’ house.

          In a way, it’s not a bad thing that I hold on to some possessions a little loosely. But at least part of the time, I distance myself from things and people out of fear or disapproval. Don’t get me wrong, there are things I’ve done to my property that my father would not have approved, like my garden. But there is often a vague sense that I’m displeasing God and everyone else who matters to me (and more.) In many things I do, there’s a ghost that haunts me, asking “How dare you?”

          Normally, when we read the verse above, we think in terms of accepting all those other parts of the body because that’s the good Sunday School answer. Today, think for a few minutes about your being part of the Body. What does it mean? What is your response to the idea? What rights does being part of the Body give you? What responsibilities?

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