On Being One Body
Does anyone know who Theodore Maiman is? Probably not. Dr. Maiman perfected the first commercially viable laser. I won’t bore you with all the scientific explanation, primarily because I don’t understand it myself. Lasers are basically focused light. A medium powered laser and a medium wattage light bulb have the same amount of photons. So what is the difference between the two? The photons of the bulb bounce around at random whereas the laser’s light is concentrated and focused. The light bulb can light up a room, but the laser can cut through steel. The strength of the laser is in the unity of the photons giving it great power and strength.
In Romans 12 the Apostle Paul changes gears in his letter to the early Christians at Rome. In the first 11 chapters he explains to these new converts all that God had done for them through Jesus. In chapter 12 he says “Therefore” based on what Christ has done for us, our reaction/response is to “offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.” In the ancient world all of the religions believed in and practiced human sacrifice as the ultimate way to appease the anger of the gods and to gain the gods’ favor and blessing. [By the way, you will NEVER see human sacrifice mandated in Christianity---period. If you do, run as fast as you can.]
But notice there is sacrifice in Christianity as Paul mentions here, but instead of it being a dead human sacrifice, it is a living human sacrifice. As you read the Bible you will often see that God takes the ways of the world and transforms those ways, redeems them, and sanctifies them and then uses them for the cause of Jesus. You and I are called to be ‘living sacrifices’ because of all that God has done for us. A dead sacrifice is no good, but a living sacrifice for Jesus can change the world. And when there are a bunch of ‘living sacrifices’ unified with one purpose and goal then we have the power of a laser light, cutting through the very gates of Hell itself. Notice what Paul writes in vs 5, “so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
In the spiritual realm unity produces great power and strength. Together we can do far more than any of us individually. There are no Lone Rangers in God’s Kingdom! At the outset of the Book of Acts (4:32-33) we read, “all the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.” These early Christians were unified by the resurrection of Jesus. They were unified in heart and mind. Unified as to their material possessions, and in their unity they experienced ‘great power.”
Together as ‘living sacrifices’ we have the strength and power of the laser. In this Romans letter Paul goes on to describe how different we all are and how differently God has given us spiritual gifts. Psalm 139 describes how uniquely and wonderfully we are made by God’s hand. Not one of us is exactly like anyone else. God has created us one of a kind—for a purpose. It is true that we are called to be light and we do that effectively as we bounce around this world at random living for Jesus and doing our Jesus thing. But the church, the body of Christ, while we are to be light, we are also called to be laser light, a light that not only dispels the darkness of lies and falsehood in this world, but a light that can cut through the iron bars of darkness and the chains of sin and brokenness that enslave us. We are a diverse people and yet in our unity through Jesus we can experience great power.
When believers unite to give, as those first Christians gave, fabulous things happen as our God takes what we give Him and multiplies it a hundredfold. Combining our abilities, our passions, our spiritual gifts, our personalities, our experiences and our financial resources along with our commitments to worship, prayer, and Bible study turns a body of believers into a force for righteousness and holiness.
There are times when we are to be light bulbs as we light up a world of darkness and show people Jesus. This is the church scattered. Then there are times when we as the redeemed of God are called to be a laser light and the impact is powerful. This is the church united and the impact is powerful. This is one of those times.
We can’t do it alone. We can’t do it without you. God has called you to this place for such a time as this! What will you do?