A Pause to Ponder God's Word
"The Body"

There he stood, the famed Mohamad Ali, lifting the torch to light the 1997 Olympic flame, the official opening of the Games. This once, "float-like-a-butterfly-sting-like-a-bee" world heavy weight boxing champion, now needed help to make it up the ramp to the Olympic Torch. It required his full concentration and strength to lift the small torch up to light the flame. With his hand and body trembling, he slowly but successfully lit the flame to the standing ovation of the great crowd in the arena.

What reduced this powerful man to a stumbling uncoordinated weakened man? Mohamad Ali has Parkinson disease. I cannot explain the medical details of this disease, but one way to explain it is, body parts refuse to carry or receive the signals from the healthy fully functional brain. They don't submit to the body or fulfill their responsibility. The result is uncontrolled trembling and erratic jolting body movement. Our hearts go out to people suffering from diseases such as this one. With each excruciating step we ache for them watching their body mutinously rebel, refusing to submit to the brain directives.

Sadly Mohamad Ali's present condition is a picture of many of today's local churches. Scripture uses the human body as a metaphor for the church. In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul describes in detail the church as the body of Christ. But rather than a strong, coordinated body, the church struggles as if afflicted with Parkinson disease. Why? Simply put, parts of the body refuse to do their part. For them the church is to feed and nourish them, not a body of which they are giving indispensable part. The church for them functions to meet their needs and satisfy their desires, not a body which requires their participation in order to function. Many churches are making erratic clumsy steps because body parts revolt and refuse to fulfil their responsibility. They could be moving with graceful, strong, bounding strides if each part does its part. Elton Trueblood bemoaned this condition in his book "The Company of he Committed" stating: "Perhaps the greatest single weakness of the contemporary Christian church is that millions of supposed members are not really involved at all and, what is worse, do not think it strange that they are not."

There is presently no cure for Parkinson's disease. But there is a cure for the church's malady. It may sound trite, but it is nonetheless the answer her crippled condition. The cure is each one of us: doing our part; submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and to each other fulfilling our responsibility (Ephesians 5:15-21); using our gift(s) in ministry; drawing upon the gracious resources God bestows participating in body life and ministry. In other words, be what we are; "Now you are the Body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it!" (1 Corinthians 12:27).

Beloved it is time for the people of God to rise up, have done with lesser things, and give heart and soul and mind and strength to serve the King of kings! (from church hymn "Rise Up Oh Men Of God"). Its time to become brutal with our calendars, being sure there is time built in for Christ and His Church. Its time to truly and fully commit ourselves to the community of believers. Its time to lay aside all the excuses why we are not committed and why we cannot do what needs to be done and accept the call and provision of God to ministry! As each part does its work we will grow and mature attaining the whole measure of the fullness Christ, who is the Head, held together by every supporting ligament, building ourselves up in love. (Ephesians 5:13, 16)

Keep Close To Jesus
Pastor Gerry


A Pause To Ponder God's Word is written and distributed by Gerald Whetstone, Ordained Elder and teacher in the Church of the Nazarene. These devotionals may be transmitted, duplicated, used in part or in entirety without permission for nonprofit purposes only. Responses welcome. To Subscribe Click Here.
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