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I won’t go so far as to say that
medical television shows make me sick, but I will say that I do not find them
appealing. These programs, however, get
one fact right: it is vitally important to stop blood loss. When a patient is rushed into the emergency
room with a wound or internal bleeding due to an accident, the first priority
is to stop the bleeding. This is a
medical fact within a spiritual context.
Our bodies are created by God with a blood supply that makes body
functions possible. It is a closed
system, though, and a loss of blood, however small, is dangerous. Even a very slow loss of blood, over time,
can be life-threatening.
God designed our physical bodies to
require an intact and functioning circulatory system. He designed the Body of Christ—that group of
believers we call the church—to require intact and functioning
relationships. It is in relationship
that we, as the body of Christ, are able to fulfill His purposes for us. In his letters, the Apostle Paul repeatedly
reminds his readers (and us) that we are all members of one body. We are to care for one another because what
happens to one of us affects all of us. If
one of our members is injured, he or she will not be able to fully participate
in relationship as God intends. It is
our love for one another that will manifest Christ to our unbelieving
neighbors. Relationship is the life-blood
of a healthy and fruitful body of Christ.
As we desire the Lord to do His
glorious work in us and among us, it is essential that we tend to any blood
loss. Blood loss metaphorically occurs when
one of us experiences spiritual and/or emotional wounds that are left unbound
or when critical needs are left unmet.
It happens every time there is unresolved conflict, hurt feelings that
create resentment, estrangement rather than reconciliation, gossip instead of
gracious and honest confrontation, excuses rather than confession and
repentance.
It is exciting to see what the Lord
is doing in His local bodies and to consider our role in His kingdom’s
work. In order to be fully prepared for
this, each of us must share the responsibility to keep our church body
strong. Just as it takes an eye or a
nerve to recognize a physical injury, I may recognize one need while you
recognize another. One brother may be
equipped and called to minister to one need while a sister may be equipped and
called to help mend an area of brokenness.
In our relationships, it is up to us to take responsibility for our own
sin and selfishness and respond to the sin and selfishness of others with truth
and grace. Confession and repentance,
forgiveness, and loving confrontation are all powerful tools that God has
provided so that we may stem relational blood loss.
Just like dealing with real blood
loss can be intimidating and messy, facing the metaphorical blood loss of
broken relationship can be distasteful.
The alternative, though, is bleeding to death. I, for one, would prefer vibrant body health,
and I encourage us all to join together in seeking to build Godly relationships
with our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, relationships that reflect
the intimacy enjoyed by the members of our Triune God.
