PET STORE

And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.
1 Corinthians 12:26-27 

My daughter Maddy loves animals of all kinds. When we went to the pet store to get a fish,  she settled on a sleek silver fish with two black stripes; a black tail; and a black lower fin. We learned that these fish are called black skirt tetras. Maddy, excited about her choice, told the pet store clerk “I would like one of the black skirt tetras, please.” We were surprised when the clerk explained that she could not sell just one because they must be sold in groups of two or more. Black skirted tetras are by nature social fish. If they do not have another of their kind, they will get lonely and die. Of course, we bought both of them.

As Christians, we are very much like the black skirted tetra. We need each other in the local church. We share a bond in Christ that the apostle Paul likens to the parts of a physical body. If a part is cut off, that part will start to die, and will no longer be useful to the body.  We are each a member of Christ’s body.  If we are cut off from that body, we become cut off from our Lord and Savior (the head), Jesus Christ, and from each other. Of course we can’t take this illustration too far, but it should help us to see that we need Christ, and we need each other as Christians (Heb. 10:25).

I have talked to many people who claim to be Christians, but when I ask them where they go to church, they usually say, “Nowhere. I don’t like the organized religion.” (or some other such nonsense). I then like to ask them if they love Jesus. “Oh yes!” they will say with enthusiasm, “I love Jesus.” I then explain the Bible teaches that the church is the body of Christ. We are His physical presence here on earth. If you separate yourself from the local church, you separate yourself from Jesus. Imagine someone saying to their spouse, “Honey, I love you, but I just don’t like your body, and I don’t want to be physically anywhere near you!” That conversation will not end well!

We are by spiritual nature like the black skirt tetra.  We need Christ, and we need each other.

Ethan Kallberg