My wife of 36 years has been away for a few days now. This happens periodically in our lives where one of us is on a planned trip and the other stays behind. There is a sudden independence. I'm now on my own in the sense that her presence is not with me and I am doing things independent of her.
I'm doing fine. I'm eating okay and getting caught up on things and people. It's actually been fun and productive. Independence has it's benefits.
But something is missing. I'm just not myself. Maybe I'm a closet wimp and don't want to admit it!
I really am dependent on Bev. These times remind me just how much a part of my life she has become. It's more than just "meeting my needs." Her smile, her comments, her idiosyncrasies all are a part of her life that I not only have become accustomed to but even dependent upon. Although I can live alone I'm just not myself without her.
That's exactly what life in Christ is all about. There is a direct correlation between the metaphor of marriage and the Christian Church. Life in the body of Christ is the same as a Godly marriage and vice versa.
We are called to trust in Christ alone but never to live alone.
I cannot be who I'm am called to be in Christ unless I live dependably on the body of Christ. I need the gifts, the presence, the voices of my brothers and sisters not simply to meet my needs but to become all I'm called to be and unable to be without their involvement in my life. It becomes second nature to depend on and look forward to growing with those closest to me spiritually. I want to have my identity in Christ but not apart from the body of Christ.
"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ...Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." I Corinthians 12:12,27
I love my wife and can't imagine my life without her - EVERYDAY.
I love the Church of Christ and can't imagine my life without her - EVERYDAY.
1 comment:
Hi Jerry. You are so right. When my grandmother passed away my grandfather said he understood what God meant when he said the "two shall become one". He said he felt like half of him was now missing and it was painful. They had a special marriage with Christ as their head. So when my grandmother passed away and my grandfather was left in such pain with half of himself missing, he continued to lean on the Father and the body of Christ to get him through those painful days. They were both such an inspiration to me. I rejoice that they are in heaven together now...and some day I will join them.
I did not know you had a blog but since I found it tonight I've enjoyed reading it and hope to share it with someone in particular that could be encouraged by your teachings. Love and miss you and Bev.
Post a Comment