01.15. CHAPTER 15 - THE BODY OF CHRIST
CHAPTER 15 - THE BODY OF CHRIST The local church has been our "heart-throb"!! We have come to see the family of God as our real family.
I was thankful to see that Prakash held exactly the same views as I did on this vital matter. I could see that Jesus had separated me from my earthly family and brought me into His family.
We were only a small group of about 60 believers in the church there. But we loved one another, we helped each other and cared for one another. I could see that this was the way God wanted His church to be.
Such an atmosphere being found in the church was largely due to the labours of the pastor who was a selfless man, who had had a clear call from God to serve Him. I had seen many dead churches in my life. Now I saw the reason: A church ultimately becomes like its leader.
Prakash and I took part in the Sunday morning meeting and the midweek Bible-study meeting, regularly. I tried my best to adjust my duty-timings with other nurses so that I did not miss either of these two meetings. The times of praise and singing on Sunday mornings were really lively in our church and lifted my spirit every time. I also took notes regularly in the Bible-study meetings so that I could go over those verses of Scripture in my leisure time and also share whatever profited me, with other nurses. I found a hunger in my heart to study the Word of God.
I meditated on what the Scriptures taught about a woman’s place in the church (1 Timothy 2:9-15; 1 Corinthians 14:34-38). I saw clearly that the Bible taught that men should be the leaders in the church. I wanted to obey God’s Word in the smallest matter and I was happy to submit to my husband and to the elder brothers in the church and to pray for them in their ministries.
I saw that as a lady, my calling in the church was to avoid the limelight and be a helper, behind the scenes. I taught the children in the Sunday School and shared the Word in the sisters’ meetings and in the nurses’ meetings. The scarf that I wore to cover my head in the meetings was more than just a tradition for me. It symbolised for me my God-appointed place of submission to my husband and to the men to whom God had placed in leadership in the church (1 Corinthians 11:3-16).
I found that as I took that place of submission as a sister, joyfully, my service for God in the ministries that I was engaged in, became abundantly fruitful. I sensed a rich anointing of God in teaching the children and in sharing the word with the sisters.
Submission, I discovered, was an attitude in my spirit and not just an external thing. I saw it as the very spirit of the Lord Jesus Who submitted to His Father all through His earthly life. When this spirit permeates our whole being, God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others.
I also saw rebellion as the very spirit of Satan. If I was going to be a wise wife, I could build my home, by submitting to my husband - even as the church is subject to Christ, in everything (Ephesians 5:24; Proverbs 14:1).
Both Prakash and I felt that we should give regularly to the work of the Lord. We were not bound by any law in this matter neither did we feel compelled to do so. We gave cheerfully. We gave some money as offerings in the church. We also sent some money each month to two missionary organizations that had men and women working for the Lord in North India. We also prayed regularly for the Lord’s servants whom we knew.
We never lacked anything in our home, because as we gave to God, He made what was left, to be more than adequate to meet our every need at home. Thus we proved the faithfulness of the Lord again and again. The local church was an integral part of Prakash’s life and mine. The church was the Body of Christ, of which we were a vital part. Fellowship with the saints there enriched our lives in many ways.
We prayed with God’s people, whenever we faced any problems. We also helped others who faced pressures and trials in their lives. I saw that God allowed many trials in our lives as His children in order to unite us more closely to each other as members of Christ’s Body. I feel sorry for those who do not have a good local church that they can fellowship in, and also for those who do not value the fellowship they have in their local church.
Prakash and I can honestly say that we have tasted something of heaven in the fellowship of the brothers and sisters in our church.