The Family of God

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Remember the song, "I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God"? It has been running my head recently. The family of faith really is a beautiful treasure. I know, because I haven't always had that. Sometimes life happens and we get separated from a fellowship. The pain and loneliness is difficult to navigate. God never intends this to be a long term situation, although He may use circumstances to guide us into His beautiful, pre-designed plan.
 Sometimes we are tempted to think we are OK when we are off doing our own thing. The truth is, we need each other and the church needs you!
I recently read a really great analogy told by D.L. Moody. A man told the preacher that he could be a good Christian without going to church. Without a word, D.L. Moody reached into the fireplace and removed one small log from the woodpile that was blazing.  He set the small log on the tile away from the rest of the fire. The log burned brightly at first before slowly getting dimmer and dimmer until the flame finally fizzled out into a tiny ember. Eventually, even the ember died. Apart from the other logs, that log had no fuel or support to burn very long. Had it remained in the woodpile it would have been a part of a productive and long-lasting fire.
Another illustration is a herd of antelope on the plains of Africa. When a lion or pack of lions is needing a meal, do they attack the herd of antelope? No. They attack the one that is separated from the herd. They isolate it, coming between the herd and the loner, and then attack. Satan is just like those lions.
Both of these vivid illustrations are meant to remind us that God designed us to live in community. No matter how introverted or independant a person is, they still need the family of believers. 
Paul says it so clearly:
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. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body (1 Cor. 12:15–16).
The body of Christ needs you as much as you need them! How can the body function properly when it has missing parts? It can't. The enemy wants us to be isolated. That is when we are weakest. Reach out. Come worship! Find hope and healing through the fellowship of believers who serve one another while worshipping our Saviour together.  

Soli Deo Gloria!
Heather Sparks 

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