Joined Together In Christ

JOINED TOGETHER IN CHRIST

a prayer to open

Here I am, Lord. Remind me who I am.

I am loved. I am known. I belong to you.

So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.

Our Western world holds individualism and independence among its highest values. And these values have shaped not only our culture but also the church. Indeed, although we are around other people, much of our experience in church is centered on individual encounters, individual prayers, individual worship, and individual learning and application. Even our communal places, such as small groups, mainly focus on individual spiritual growth. But Paul reminds us that life in Christ is not an individual endeavor. Not only have we been joined together with God through Christ, but we have been joined together with all believers in Christ, forming a holy temple where God dwells. We are citizens of a common people. We are members of one family.

• Reflect on your daily, weekly, and monthly spiritual practices. How many of them are individualized? How many are communal? What communal practices do you engage in on a regular basis? What do those particular practices form in you?
• Consider the practices of confession, discernment, forgiveness, reconciliation, and mutual submission. What do these practices look like when practiced alone? What do they look like when practiced in community?
• Take a moment to quiet yourself in God’s loving presence. Ask him to open your eyes and heart to the ways he wants you to live more fully into the truth that you have been joined together with all other believers in Christ. What did God bring to mind?

Father, thank you for welcoming me into your family through Christ and joining me together with those who love you. As a stranger, I felt lost, unsure, full of doubt. Thank you for giving me the gift of belonging, security, and faith. Remind me that this is not a life to be lived alone or at a safe distance from other believers. Show me what it means to truly live in communion with others—to confess, discern, forgive, and submit one to another. Allow me to be present to others in suffering, joy, and the mundane. And may your Kingdom come in and through your church. Amen.