Ash Wednesday

Most of us join clubs, groups and professional societies, because we want to be in contact with those with similar interests. The best and the most important membership a Christian must have is, in the one Body Of Christ, which is the church (Ephesians 1: 22 - 23); it is not individual church buildings, but the entire group of believers in Christ. The requirements for being a member of this body is to have faith and trust in Jesus Christ. All the members of the body of Christ must believe that there is one body, one spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God (Ephesians 4: 4 - 6). Jesus Christ alone is the Head of His Church (Ephesians 1:22, Colossians 1:18). He built the church and will continue to grow and preserve it until His second coming.
The bible tells us that the following are the responsibilities of these members: Glorifying God, Bearing fruit for Christ, Working together to make the body of Christ a great example and a witness to the non-believers, Loving and Forgiving one another, Being in harmony with one another, Having identity and unity in Christ, Not neglecting to meet together and Encouraging and Taking care of one another. All these may not be easy to achieve. For example, being in harmony with each other and having identity and unity in Christ may be difficult for some. But there should not be any divisions among the members; all the members must be united in the same mind and the same judgment (1 Corinthians 1:10).
These responsibilities are the objectives of the body of Christ. These help us to achieve one mission commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you " (Matthew 28:18-19). The members of the body of Christ have different gifts and hence perform different functions to achieve these objectives and the mission, just like the many organs of a human body (Romans 12:4-5). As stated in Hymn # 576, “We all are one in mission; we all are one in call, our varied gifts united by Christ, the Lord of all. A single great commission compels us from above to plan and work together that all may know Christ’s Love”.
Jey Chandra