Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Call and commission
1Cor. 12. 27-31

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (27)

In the first epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, Paul tried to answer a number of questions that the Corinthian believers asked. In our passage, he illustrates the importance of the unity of the church. To prove this he says “you are the body of Christ. “. The phrase ‘the body of Christ’ is peculiar to Apostle Paul. The church is the body of Christ. Paul very clearly says that the church as regarded by God is not just a community, or it is not just a congregation but it is a community of Christian people. Church is the assembly of faithful believers of Jesus and a community of people with mutual relationship with each other and with Christ.

For the smooth functioning of the Church, the body of Christ, He called and appointed believers as Apostles, Prophets, Teachers etc. God bestowed His blessings upon them to execute their responsibilities for the betterment of His Kingdom. The ultimate aims of these positions are the building up of the church as a whole. He also appointed certain people who have different gifts. The gifts of certain people are also very useful for encouraging and building up of certain persons and it is also useful for the entire church community. Individuals have their own identity but they must have a common purpose. In our body, there are different organs. They all work together for the health of a person. If an organ is not working fruitfully, it becomes useless and ultimately affects the body.

In our Church we have different offices, Metropolitan, Episcopa, Priests, Deacons, Lay leaders and believers. These offices are all for the smooth functioning of the church. These positions are God’s call and He commissions. Each position has its own responsibility to build up the church. If all of these work together whole heartedly that become a blessing to the church, to the community and as a whole to the entire nation. In our short span of time let us believe that we are called by God and appointed us with different responsibilities to build up the church. Let us dedicate ourselves to God to act according to the spirit of God. Clan Hendrix says  “ If our church are to be Christ centered they have also to be people oriented”. Each of us are called by God and commissioned to work together for the kingdom of God.

Prayer: loving God, we praise you Lord for your Call and commission. Help us to fulfill our responsibilities. Amen

Thought for the Day:  Called and commissioned to build the kingdom of God
 Rev. P. S. Thomas, MTC, Atlanta

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