Watchman Nee died in 1972 after spending twenty years in communist prisons in China. This is a quote from his book, The Normal Christian Life: “The life of Christ in me will gravitate to the life of Christ in others. I can no longer take an individual line. Jealousy will go. Competition will go. Private work will go. My interests, my ambitions, my preferences, all will go. It will no longer matter which of us does the work. All that will matter will be that the Body grows.”
After reading this quote recently, I began writing down names of people who have influenced me as a follower of Jesus. Before long I had a list of about 100 people. I realize this group is just a tiny, tiny fraction of the Body of Christ, but God has used each to impact my life. I have been blessed because others have allowed Jesus to live in them.
About 40 on this list would not be considered personal friends, though in God’s eyes we are in the same family. You would probably recognize many from this group, and though I have met three or four of them, none would recognize my name. But God has used their teaching or writing or music or example to build my faith and draw me closer to God.
23 on this list are no longer alive on this earth, but their influence continues to spread. About 30 of these 100 are of a different nationality than mine. No matter the color of skin or national heritage, if Christ lives in a heart and a person lives in Christ, good fruit will result. Just think of the multitude from every tribe and nation and tongue that will worship at the throne of God!
60 of the people on this list would probably not consider themselves very important in the Body of Christ, but they are very special to me. These friends and family members are brothers and sisters who know me well. I dare not pretend around these individuals or they will call me out… for my own good! All these believers have helped me grow in Christ, and though we do not necessarily agree on every single point, we love each other deeply. And I truly believe we all need one another.
Now if each of the 100 people on my list created their own list of 100 people who helped them grow in Christ, and then each on those lists wrote down 100 people that influenced them in the Lord, could we get a glimpse of the magnitude of the Body? May Christ, who is our Head, help each of us see his beauty and bless one another.
“It was he (Jesus) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-13