The Body of Christ.

So, I was at the gym today.. ya know, going hard (if I do say so myself..).  I was walking out of the locker room.. when all of a sudden it hit me.  Not saying that I've never realized it before, but it hit me today, again.  And I can't help but just smile thinking about it.

It's amazing how God uses people, and who he decides to use.

A couple months back, I was talking to a friend.  We were just sitting on the grass, talking about life: the good, the bad, and the worst of it.  He told me what his "worst sin" was, something he had struggled with for a while.  He asked me mine, and the first thing I thought of, was of course, self-value.  He said, "Really? That's it."  It's like he knew I wasn't telling the whole truth.  I said, "Well, that's not the wooorrssstttttt thing.." "Then tell me!" he said.  "I can't tell you. It's disgusting for me to even think about it.  I can't. It's too bad."

Rewind a couple months before that.

I was sitting with the same friend, talking about life again.  I asked him to share a little bit more about his situation.  He refused, saying that he didn't want to be a burden, or a sob-story.  I told him, "Then what's the point of the body of Christ, if we can't help each other out.  We weren't meant to live this life on our own strength.  We need other people."

Now, go back to the grass. I hope you're still with me here..

"You can't tell me because you think it's too bad?  So what is the body of Christ for then, if you can't tell me?  That's what you said, right?  That we're supposed to share one another's burdens?"  After he said that, I was a bit embarrassed.  This boy just treated me with my own words! I eventually gave in, and told him.  He didn't think it was as bad as I did, because "everyone goes through that."

I am glad to write this to you today, proudly saying that after that day, I no longer struggle with that sin.  Before that day, it was always something building up inside of me, getting ready to explode.  But God used him to release me from that sin.

It's the beauty of the body of Christ, people.  It doesn't matter what you've done, how old you are, or whatever.  The body of Christ is meant to build each other up in love (1 Thessalonians 5:11).  I'm not saying I'm good at it, by any means.  The Lord knows how much I need to learn to love people.  If you've been in the car when I'm driving, you know exactly what I mean.

I think the beauty and work of the body of Christ, being a light in this world.. that's why I love what I'm doing now, working with high school students, and that's why I want to do this as a "career".  I can't imagine any other job being as fruitful as this. I want to show them who Christ is, by just being there for them.  Showing them the beauty of the body of Christ, hoping that one day, they might become a part of it too.