There is a leeway of freedom involved with operating independently. Most in an independent type society like America would see this as a positive thing. I am not so sure. I imagine it is good in terms of freedom to worship and pray to God but I am having difficulty that being independent to pursue our own ends is a positive. In the absence of God which much of the country and world is now in this leads to moral abasing and drift away from God. I firmly believe that man’s natural state is to not seek God. Romans 3:10-11 state: ““There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.” To allow mankind (including me) autonomous individuality and independent operation is to court disaster. We have been created to be in relationship not only with God but also with one another and to circumvent the divine order gives us a society like the one we now live in. It is godless, disjointed and without direction. It is now a modern society under judgment that is slowly being given over to a collective reprobate mind.
Dependence
Dependency in a manner prescribed by God is a good thing. A child’s dependency on its parents is a nature and acceptable dependency. A wife and husband dependent on one another for emotional and mental support during the trials of family, parenthood and life in general appear to be a good thing. Dependency in an unbiblical manner or a dependency in a parasitic nature is bad. A lazy person sponging off the State as a crutch is bad. A drug addict dependent on a drug to maintain some type of high is bad. A person that is dependent on money to pay bills so much so that his check is spend months in advance just as the US economy borrows from other countries shows an inability to control spending and an unhealthy dependency on money that has not even been earned yet.
Independence
As stated before, independence and a freedom of worship to God can be good as it is an individual and independent relationship with Jesus Christ that gains one salvation and eternal life. Other than this I see little gain. We value independence greatly in this country because of the tyranny we made our independence from but to divorce ourselves from God in the same manner is not like divorcing from a tyrant but rather from a loved one that could've benefit of live.
Symbiosis and Interdependence
I believe interdependence is important to mankind. God does not need mankind but mankind clearly needs God and other people. God is independent of all and needs nothing for His existence but mankind was specifically designed for an intimate relationship with God all other relations in a person’s life are fallout or precipitate from the one in God. The body of Christ or the Church with a Big “C” is interdependent. We must work together to bring the Kingdom. It is the unity in the Christian body that is the sign of the Kingdom having arrived in part. We are a symbiotic entity that thrives when we work together and dies or deteriorates when we are apart our in opposition to one another
The Condition That Your Position Is In
My attitude and actions towards with the Church help build or help destroy it. It does not take a brain surgeon to realize that a person who is building the Kingdom is doing something biblical and therefore acting as a true disciple of Christ. Those that destroy, defame or bring ill-repute to the Body of Christ is destine for either punishment or quite possibly…damnation depending on the condition of their position in Christ. Christ is the head of the Body and the rest of us are under Him answering to Him as we are all equal. Any other heirarchy is unbiblical. Those that have leadership positions in the Church are those that are willing to take on serving the Body.
Reflection of The Body
Even if my life doesn’t always reflect it I am to be a shining example of what it means to be s disciple of Christ. I am to bring no scorn or bad attention upon either Jesus or my brethren. We are called to live out the Bible. We are to internalize the Bible so that we become the Bible so that we live the Bible and act as a proper representative of our Lord. We are God’s agents to carry out His commands on earth while we are here. When we are done we will be called to our true home to account for our actions here which will dictate what our final station will be in the New Heavens or New Earth.
Members of The Same Body
Right now the Body of Christ is helping sustain my family and I both at an emotional level and in some cases financially to help me through the tough road of changing careers and completing seminary. This my wife and I are finding is no easy feat. It at time seems impossible with all the baggage it entails and the only thing that often helps clear the difficult hurdles is the compassion and love of others. As hard as it was at first I have learned to take provision from my brothers and sisters in Christ as it is provision from Christ Himself. I have needed to learn how to say thank you and move on and stop getting hung up on feeling dependent in a fiscal manner to this person or that organization. If we are truly part of the overall corporate Body of Christ the provisions and tools I receive from the local Body all go to perpetuate the same ends.
Assess Gifts and Why You Were Given Them
Explain one’s gifts for the body and listing them seems like a vainglorious enterprise but each believer should understand what they bring to the table. This is not arrogance it is a deep moral and searching inventory to see and understand how each person can best serve the Body of Christ. To me there are to distinct form of gifts. My spiritual gifts are teaching and pastoring. After 4 years of intensive prayer, searching and meditation it has been narrowed down to these. The things I have either been born with or have had trained into me over my lifetime are ability to strip down complex things and make them easy to understand (engineering). I also have the ability to organize complex things into a coherent organized whole. I can also communicate these concepts and ideas either visually or in written form. My years of design and drafting are a testament to the former and my time as a writer blogger is testament to the latter. I see things in my mind. Words often take on three dimensional manifest form and images and pictures morph easily to words for me. In addition I can also see things in my mind before they are there or exist. Most have considered this a form of being visionary. I wouldn’t be so kind about my ability but is what I have been told. The more charismatic and Pentecostal of the brethren have referred to is as truth telling. These disclosures are about as honest and open as I have ever been about these things. I believe that any one that truly knows me knows that these statements are fairly accurate. All and I mean all these gifts I know realize are for use in the body both local and corporate. I will support any Christian anywhere if they are truly Christian...even if I never see them again. You are all my brothers and sisters and I love you one and all.
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