“After I became a Christian,” Stan began, “it took me quite a while, way too long, to get plugged into the church.”
“Plugged in how? I responded.
“Well,” Stan replied, “church was just a Sunday thing for me. Go to the church service, kind of listen, maybe talk to some people, leave and go home or maybe go to breakfast.’
“Gradually,” he continued, “God opened me to the truth that He wanted me to be involved in His church. Involved, not just be some kind of Sunday spectator.”
“I talked to the pastor, prayed about what to do, and eventually got involved in serving others in the church on a regular basis throughout the week.”
“That sounds like a good progression,” I replied.
“It was,” Stan responded, “but I wasn’t all that happy or content with what I was doing. I would look around at what others were doing in the church and wish I could be doing what they were doing. I felt what I was doing was insignificant compared to others. I wanted to be a bigger part of the church.”
“So,” I asked, “did you start doing something else?”
“No,” Stan replied, “I didn’t start doing something else, but I did start being something else.”
“Not doing, but being?” I asked. “What do you mean by that?”
“One day during my journaling time with God,” Stan replied, “when I was in the apostle Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, I was jolted awake from my self-focused wishing to be doing something else.”
“How so?” I asked.
“While I was in my written conversation with God about what Paul had written, it suddenly became clear as if the apostle had written the letter directly to me.”
“Continuing, Stan added, “I was shown that God had me doing exactly what He wanted in and for His church. As well, it became clear that every single role God has for each person in the church is an integral part of a well-functioning body of believers.”
“If God has something else for me in the church, He will make that clear. Until then, I am to be content in continuing being and doing what He has for me.”
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If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 1 Corinthians 12:15.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for your church. Thank you for showing me what it is you have for me to do and to be in your church. I confess that I have often wished you had something else for me to do to serve the body of your church and that I wanted to be doing what I wanted, not what you have for me. Please forgive me. And please, Father, open me to see and accept that what you have for me to do and to be is exactly what you want, and that if you have something else for me, you will show me. Thank you I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Think on this: Each person has a role to fill in the church. Some roles may appear to be more attractive than others, but all of them are vital. Are you filling a role in the church? If not, why? If you are filling a role, are you content with what you are doing or do you wish you were doing something else? How open are you to hearing God’s voice as to what He has for you to be and to do?
Waiting for the Train 