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It is not a small thing to be called the Body of Christ. It is no small thing indeed. Little is the thought we devote to the burden placed upon that privilege. But it is no trifling matter to see with His eyes, to speak on His behalf, and to work for His Name.

C.S. Lewis said, “You don’t have a soul. You are a soul; you have a body.” Yet, when the world thinks of us, it thinks first not in terms of unseen but of seen. Though our true selves are grown and contained and maintained in are souls, we are only shown for what we are through the usage of our bodies.

Likewise, we are the means by which Christ has chosen to show His nature to the world. He doesn’t have to use us, but He does. And we think far too little of that call. When the world wishes to judge us, it does not see our soul; it judges by what our body does. When the world wishes to judge God, it does not always see His Holiness; it judges by what His body does.

“If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” -- 1 Peter 4:11

Why Do You Yet Crawl...?

For over two months now, there have been at least four sparrows living inside of the Wal-Mart here in Hannibal. I know this because I see them there…all the time…all over the store. I’m not sure how this is not some sort of health code violation, but what are you gonna do? I sincerely doubt that those birds are going to find their way out; I don’t know why they would want to leave anyway. And, short of some kind of net-launching cannon or releasing a falcon in the store, I see no way to catch those things.

Let’s face it: if you were a bird, that would be the place to be. There’s all the food you could want, it’s super warm and cozy, there are no threats from predators, and the ceilings are high enough to fly above the crowds and even build a nice little nest for yourself and the little lady.

There’s only one kicker. Those birds: I wouldn’t call them free. Sure they have anything they need; they may even have all the liberty they could ask for, they can fly around to their heart’s content. But there is still a ceiling between them and the sky. They are still in a cage; it’s just bigger than they would expect.

Sometimes I feel like those birds: trapped at Wal-Mart. There are so many things I would like to do, and so many things I feel I am meant to do; but my job traps my time. After all, I have to provide for needs. I need money to get food and to pay rent and bills. But it all seems like flying in a circle—a big circle, maybe, but still a circle.

Actually though, it’s just easy for me to blame Wal-Mart for my problems because I don’t like being there anyway. There is still so much of my time that I could use for the important things, but I waste it. The cage I’m in is built mainly of my own laziness and procrastination. If there is anything holding me back from the sky, it is me. God has blessed me so greatly, and I have opportunities most people will never know (as do we all) but I am still content to live in a smaller world with a ceiling above me.

I don’t know what all of this will prove to be about, but this is what my life is like right now. There is a sentence in my head. I don’t know if I heard it somewhere, or if God just put it there. “Why do you yet crawl while you may fly?” Most of us are still stuck on the ground. God has so much more for us. Stop being content here in the dirt.

And that goes for me.