A Body in Need of Connection

A Body in Need of Connection

Good Morning Friends,

Sunday evening, in the dark, one of the trunk size limbs of our Gumbo Limbo Tree in our back yard came crashing down. It sounded like a tree being felled. We got out our flash lights to go see and it was a mess. We had started the tree with love from a broom stick size branch just stuck in the ground about twenty-five years ago. What was interesting was that as the branches fell and broke some stuck in the ground as starters for a new tree.

Yesterday I began to clear out the sprawling limb and discovered that many of the branches were budding. If you have always wanted a Gumbo Limbo Tree let me know this week. Stick it in the ground, water it and trust that God will do the rest. Trust in the form of love is said to bring out the best in a person. But what brings out the best in a community or even a forest is not really all that different for it too is an organism…. A Body in Need of Connection.

Scripture: From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Ephesians 4:16 (NIV)

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

1 Corinthians 13:6 (NIV)

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

John 15:13 (NIV)

Now there were certain Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these therefore came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came, and they told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant also be; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”

John 23:20-26 (NIV)

Message: Becoming a Christian means dying. Yes the seed must die and the branch must break, but when it does new growth can occur. The death is not in vain. It is significant. It bears fruit. Do not expect this to be easy. It is counter intuitive. It is radical to say if we love our lives, we will lose them; and yes, we must hate our lives in this world. But why? What will be the outcome? That we may keep it to eternal life. “He who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal.” What we lay down for Christ he will put in our hands again with glory. You cannot out-sacrifice his resurrection generosity. Like the broken limb of the Gumbo Limbo Christ is broken for us so the truth about him can become the truth about us. But make no mistake about this point. To grow in love we must first experience the powerful, deep unshakable love of Christ. The mind may be motivated by truths, but the soul is motivated and nourished by love. The journey is by faith not sight. But the journey is pointless without love. Love with unexpected truth, not truth alone connects the body. Friends, what lives, when all that needs to die in us is dead, is love. Corporately it is the same way.

Pray we realize that a truth that does not point to love is not truth at all. Pray that the love in our life always points to Christ’s truth. Pray we live large because we have a God who loves us large. Pray we get things in proper order. Pray we are changed into Christ’s image so that we can share the truth with love to others more compellingly. Pray we realize that the way is hard but also glorious. Pray we become the body of Christ together.

Blessings,

John Lawson