I had an encounter with the Lord where I began to experience the Body of Christ with it's many members being in unity and wholeness. Such a glorious, beautiful, and powerful Bride we are to be for Jesus, so full of life with solutions to the most difficult problems. Since I have been around the Body of Christ there is often an emphasis in reaching out to those who don't know Christ, there are people all around us who are not going to spend eternity with God and love demands that we cultivate a heart for these to come into the Kingdom yet I have not thought of the powerful attraction of the Body loving one another as evangelism. Jesus in His final prayer before He is going to the Cross (what you say before death is powerful) prays, "I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me." (John 17:23) Jesus emphasizes our glorious oneness with Him and the Father but goes on to say that the unity produced in us will lead the world to know Him. It is from the deep and vast love of the Father that He sends Jesus to make us one with Jesus that we may be His sons and daughters but sons and daughters are in a loving family, Jesus has paid the price for the Body to be in unity with one another. The price is paid but why is the Body still divided by denominations, theological divisions, factions, judgements against different groups, and a general sense of being disconnected from one another. I believe the fight to step into the unity that Jesus purchased on our behalf (what is in heaven) is one of the greatest battles the Body of Christ faces in our day. I believe through our oneness that the world will see Jesus like they never have before in history, it is only through a move of the Spirit on the hearts of individuals, leaders, and groups of people that we will see this happen. Most people I know who are saved, did not get saved because of being scared of Hell but be drawn in by an unconditional love that was beyond this world. The Father's love continually displayed by a company of people who on fire with Him and loving each other well will draw people to Jesus because Jesus says it in this passage. In order to see this happen I believe a key is that we need to see one another "in Christ" and not after the flesh, lifting one another up so that and others can see members of the Body of Christ in their true identity. We must have heavenly perspectives that lead to what is in heaven being manifest here. What does the Body of Christ look like in heaven? She is perfectly fitted to Christ her head, what is on the head is also on the Body, so for example in Revelation 5:12 "saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” Can you imagine what the Body of Christ would look like if we were receiving all that was on the head. We would be so utterly transformed, like Jesus was at the transfiguration. What was bestowed on Jesus for His benefit and ours was the gift of the Father through His love. Let us throw off the hindrances to being one "in Christ" and unified as a Body. Let's cast aside our judgments, offenses, hurts from others in the Body, stop overemphasizing our theological differences, and focus on the author and finisher of our faith. One In Father's Love, Bret
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