NOT FORSAKING
And now, the ever famous……..
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Some time ago, I was in a brief dialog with my old friend, and the discussion was this verse above. He said something to the effect of "what are we assembling” when we come together. This just grabbed a hold of my mind and thoughts began to roll around. They have not subsided. So I’m finally giving in and jotting some down.
So a congregation needs a place to congregate or assemble. Question is, what are you assembling? When the assembly is complete what can you expect to see? What is the purpose of the assembly, as a whole functioning unit?
I think he mentioned something about a jig saw puzzle when we were dialoging. That got my wheels turning. Jigsaw puzzles usually come in a box. Inside are the pieces. If there are 150 pieces to the puzzle, you except them all to be in the box when you get it. How annoying when you get to the end the assembly, and you find there are 3 pieces missing.
On each piece there is a different part of the puzzle picture printed on it. All the pieces must be on hand and properly fit together for others to see the completed picture, once properly assembled. No two pieces fit the same space. Outside the box there is a picture of what the complete puzzle is to look like once assembled. If there is no picture, then the task of assembly is much more difficult.
So the person(s) putting the puzzle together need a large table to put the puzzle together on. I've never seen a puzzle put together inside the box. The area must be large enough so they can dump all the pieces out on it, turn them all printed side up, and then the process begins. This process, is the hard part. Finding where each part fits in, with all the rest of the pieces. If all the pieces stay in the box, you have a box with lots of pieces, but from a distance, it looks like a pile of rubble. With patience and time, one fits the pieces together, piece by piece. Small areas of the puzzle (congregations of properly fitted pieces) begin to emerge in fit together. Some find it easy to start with the corner pieces, and work from there. Or the edge pieces, and form the outline. It is exciting and gratifying, each time one finds a piece that fits perfectly together with another piece. To the passer by, it may not look like much. But the those putting it together, it is a work in progress.
Finally the big day arrives and all the pieces are in the picture, fit together perfectly, and the whole thing can be viewed and appreciated.
So, then I began to wonder, what would happen if someone took some pieces from some other puzzle whose pieces were about the same size, and put them in the box of pieces, that were NOT part of the puzzle? What a mess that would be. Oh they might think it amusing, but the person(s) trying to get things assembled, would be quite distressed, and their sense of accomplishment disturbed by such espionage.
If you get to the end of the puzzle, and find one piece missing, the person(s) working on completing it will turn on lights and get down on the floor etc, and search for the missing piece. Oh the glee when the missing piece is found and inserted into it’s unique place completing the puzzle. If the puzzle piece is lost, the hole that is left, just cannot be filled by any other puzzle piece from any other puzzle. The disappointment by the assembler(s) cannot be contained.
Churches are like that somewhat. They are a collection of unique pieces in a box. But if they remain in the box, others do not get to see what the completed picture looks like. The community never really gets a view of what HIS BODY looks like, unless someone is able to spread the pieces out, and find the unique void that each piece is created to fill, and assign that piece where it fits in with all the others. Remember, before you get started, if you have a picture of what the completed work looks like, you are at a great advantage. The picture of completeness and fullness is JESUS CHRIST. As the parts begin to fit together, each one adding value to the other, an image begins to emerge and others began to recognize it. The more pieces assembled in their proper place, the more of the image is recognized and appreciated. Let one piece try to be any other piece and the image is marred. Yikes.
The thing is, no matter the competence of the person(s) assembling the church; if there are pieces MISSING, their success is hindered, if not crippled.
Which piece in the puzzle box is non-essential to the overall grandeur of the completed image? Not one. And so it is with the Body of CHRIST. When you’re not present…….well, it’s just not what it could be.
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
The call is to come together, and let the HOLY SPIRIT guide you to your particular place in the body that ONLY YOU can fill. You’re one of a kind. Calling someone to assemble a 500 piece puzzle, and you only give them 14 pieces, and you’ve assigned them an impossible task. You, as a puzzle piece, are either part of their success, or part of their futility. Which will you be? There are a lot of empty spaces these days in assemblies. But there is only one spot in HIS Body where you will fit. You must be present, or you may miss HIS Body altogether. Don’t let that be you………
Keeping the puzzle pieces in the box, prohibits the grandeur of the intent. You cannot see anything of what the puzzle looks like when all the pieces are there, yet in a scattered pile. See, in order to get the big picture, they must be spread out all over the community. And all the pieces must be turned right side up. One side has a part of the puzzle. The other side? Well, it's not that much to look at. It is the flesh. And that piece will not interlock with any other pieces, because if the gray side is up, (the flesh) it's identity is hidden, even though it is in the community of pieces.
Yes, we have much work to do, before others can clear see the finished work of CHRIST in our midst. :)