Hi, everyone! I’ll follow Amie’s lead and introduce myself to you, since this is my first week posting on GREEN-LIGHT Revolution. My name is Lynn Fleshman, and I live in Joplin, MO. I am currently the secretary at Christ’s Church of Joplin, and I love working and serving with my friends here. My first post is about how God has helped me see how I fit into this wonderful church family.
First, a confession: I am overly sensitive to being left out. As a single person in my late twenties, I find myself in a position that is not shared by very many other people in my church. Most people my age are married and starting families, and most of the single crowd is much younger than I am. Sometimes I feel lonely, and I’m not sure where I fit in.
One Sunday morning, this attitude had crept in and was distracting me from worship and tempting me to be ungracious with my friends. I left the church building that day with mixed emotions and a heavy heart. As I was driving home, God spoke to me and reminded me of something very important. The Church is not homogeneous. In fact, part of the reason God has placed me here is because I am different. Here’s what Paul has to say about that:
For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.... If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. (1 Corinthians 12:14-15,17-18 ESV)If I could paraphrase these verses, I might say, "The church does not consist of one type of person, but many. If the single woman should say, 'I'm not married, I guess I don't belong to the church,' that would not make her any less a part of the church. If the whole church were married, where would the children's ministry volunteers come from? But as it is, God brought together the members of the church, each one of them, as he chose."
Our different organs make it possible for us to do more stuff. And just like a body with a variety of parts, the church is composed of different kinds of people. We come from a variety of backgrounds, incomes, and places in life, but when our diverse components come under the headship of Christ, each part's function contributes to the health of the whole group. Our differences glorify God and build up one another. On the drive home that Sunday morning and many times since, the Lord has encouraged me to stop thinking of myself as the part that doesn't fit, and to start thinking of myself as a part that is uniquely positioned to serve.
Going green!
Lynn
