Daily Devotion 10/15/18
1 Corinthians 12:12-14 12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
“United we stand; divided we fall.” I’m sure you’ve heard that phrase before. It’s a phrase that is credited to Aesop from one of Aesop’s fables. As you reflect on that, you can’t help but think of all the ways that it is true. If parents are divided, they will fall and the children will run the household. If a team is divided and one player is only worried about himself/herself, the team will be divided and they will fall. If a country is divided within herself, that country will fall. The same is true within a church. If there are divisions, the church will fall. Paul wants us to understand that we are one in our church; equals with everyone there. Sadly, we are one because each of us sinned. We’ve fallen. We haven’t been perfect. We have made mistakes. But we are also one because we have all been baptized by the same Spirit. In our baptisms, we have each received the Holy Spirit who has worked faith in our hearts; faith that Jesus is the Savior. Each of us have had our sins washed away. Each of us are united because we all were destined for hell, but saved through the grace of God. We are a united front against Satan and his attacks. What does that mean for you today? Rely on your fellow church members. You are united with them and saved by the grace of God. Stand with them and pray for them just as they pray for you.
Thank you, Father, for uniting me to this body of people through your Holy Spirit. Thank you for washing our sins away and connecting us together through the blood of Jesus. Because we are united in you, I know that I’m never alone in this world; I have a body of believers who are united with me. Help me to stand with them, pray for them, and encourage them today. Amen.