One of the great blessings in my sickness has been to see the Body of Christ as I have never seen it before. Many of you are among those who wrote notes, sent cards, gave gifts, prayed, and poured out the love of God to a hurting family. I cannot describe the encouragement I received from the Body of Christ and I cannot describe the beauty I saw in God’s people. Christians from Atlanta, where I live, from Chattanooga, where I grew up, and from many other places prayed for us and helped us. Christians from Brazil and West Africa and South Africa and Russia and Mexico and Europe and Jerusalem prayed for me to recover. Friends I grew up with, people that taught me, students I have taught, players I have coached, parents of students and players, people I have gone to church with, fellow workers, children, and some people I don’t even know prayed for me and loved my family in incredible ways. I am sure not worthy of such love.
One day, if God will help me understand it, I may try to write about the power of prayer, but today I want to share something about the Body of Christ. Much debate has taken place over the years about who makes up this Body. There’s really a pretty simple answer. The Body of Christ is made up of the friends of Jesus who have put true faith in Him. Jesus revealed through parables the separation that would come at the end of the age (see Matthew 13:24-43), but that’s not our job. “The Lord knows those who are His.” Our job is to love one another. It is this love that I witnessed in the Body of Christ.
Now it is true that if all those Christians who prayed for me were put in the same church building and told to worship together, disagreements might surface. But here’s something I believe to be true: If my hospital bed had been moved to the center of a large gym and all these friends had come to visit me at the same time, I don’t believe there would have been a single argument. What friend of mine, standing next to a dying man, would want to argue with another friend of mine?
Perhaps this illustrates a bit of the wisdom of our Father. If the children would just gather at the Cross, where would be the division? What friend of Jesus, standing next to the Cross, wants to argue with another friend of Jesus? At the Cross we’re all the same. We know we’re the ones that put Him there, yet He shed His blood for each of us. We’re sure not worthy, but He calls us friends.
“I no longer call you servants, for a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15 “…that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 17:21