In the pages of the New Testament, we find descriptions of early church life that are very appealing. It seems clear that many of these early groups of Christians were very dynamic, close, and exciting. Consider for example the following statements:

And everyone was filled with awe...and all the believers were together and had everything in common...they broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of the people. And the Lord was adding daily to their number those who were being saved. (Acts 2:43-47)

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we shall grow up in all things to him who is the Head, that is Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Eph. 4:15,16)

We are told that the basis for this closeness and mutual fulfillment is the fact that God has arranged a special role for each Christian in his or her local Christian community:

All [spiritual gifts] are the work of one and the same Spirit, as he gives them to each one just as he determines. The body is a unit though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ...God has arranged all the parts of the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be...The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!...so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. (I Cor. 12:11,12,18,21,25)

But how are we to discover this role that God has planned for us? One part of the answer lies in forming caring relationships with other Christians. It is in this context that we are best able to "speak the truth in love" and to "have equal concern for each other."

By Dennis McCallum