Googled Myself

I googled myself, and I found something that I'm pretty sure I wrote to the MB Herald years back. Since I don't have any particular blog inspiration today, I'll use this. It's still up to date.

One cell in many
Gerald Janzen (Letters, Feb. 18) wrote that commitment to the church is essential and should be made wholeheartedly. I agree. He also stated, “When we were baptized, we were baptized into the local body of Christ.” Perhaps I read that sentence too narrowly, but that was never the intent of my baptism. I chose to be baptized because I loved Jesus and wanted to publicly say so. I joined the church because it is the family Jesus provided for my nurture and support and because it is the Bride of Christ. At no time did I understand I was being baptized solely into that congregation. I was taking a stand for Christ, and the congregation I was baptized at was the cell of Christ’s body in which He’d placed me to function – one cell among many. Since my baptism, I have been a part of two other congregations of two other denominations. At no time did I feel the need to be baptized into their congregations, nor was it required of me. I found the same Christian love and acceptance that the congregation of my baptism had given me. My baptism had brought me into the whole body of Christ.

Let us be clear on this point. Yes, we must function locally. A cell must function where it has been placed. If you are in a finger, you won’t be doing footwork. But let’s never lose sight of the truth that we are part of a whole, and the cells in the foot are as much our family as those in the surrounding fingers. This realization is essential for us if the body of Christ is ever to dispel the illness of infighting and break down the walls denominations and even congregations have built. Jesus’ prayer was: “I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me [does this not cross denominational boundaries?], for they are Yours . . . Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are” (John 17:9,11b, NKJV).
Cheryl Janzen