LifeLink Devotions for Friday, June 21, 2024

One of the most painful conditions I can think of is an ingrown toenail. I remember as a young adult, as a result of having injured my toe in a basketball game, going to the doctor to have an ingrown toenail surgically removed. I waited so long as I could before going, but the pain was just unbearable. I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t work. It affected every part of my being.

Our bodies, and every part of them, were designed to grow up and to grow out, not to grow in. Imagine how dysfunctional we would be if our fingers grew in instead of out. Or if our lungs collapsed instead of expanded. We function at full capacity when we are fully extended. We even do stretching exercises to make sure we have full range of motion. We do not want our effectiveness to be limited by a lack of mobility.

Matthew 13:31-33  “He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.” He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

One of the most painful conditions known to the Body of Christ is the ingrown Christian. These people cause the church to become ineffective, forcing the energy of the body to be redirected from outreach to internal care. It may be a sin in their life that is causing the spiritual infection, but it is more likely an attitude of selfishness (which is still sin) about the purpose of the church that is causing the pain. Here’s a test you can take to determine if you are an ingrown Christian. Respond to each statement honestly with a yes or a no.

Do you need to be acquainted with everyone in my church?

Do you want your church to be one big happy family?

Do you hope the church is not crowded when you go for worship?

Do you hope the music in church is always the style that you prefer?

Do you hope the church has programs to meet all of your needs?

Do you hope the church can meet all the spiritual needs of your kids?

Do you hope your church never has any problems?

Do you believe outsiders and newcomers tend to not understand us and therefore cause problems?

Do you think your church has enough ministries in place?

Do you believe that adding new ministries will overload those already working hard?

Do you believe that the people who have always been in charge should stay in charge no matter how many new people come?

A “yes” answer to ANY of these questions is the start of an ingrown attitude that will infect the rest of the Body and cause the church to become ineffective. When these attitudes persist, the church will not extend itself to a lost world and will not function at full capacity in the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish the Great Commission, because individuals within the church are not living out the Great Commandment. They are more in love with themselves and their own needs than they are in love with God and their Savior, Jesus Christ.

Please carefully review each of these questions. In our next devotional we will see some attitude adjustments we must make if we are to see the Body of Christ grow.

Pastor John