Why Am I Here?

      Have you ever wondered why you ended up being a part of the Franklin Church of Christ? I imagine you can go back through the practical reasons behind the decisions that led you here. But I am really asking about a bigger picture.

      I Corinthians 12:18 is an intriguing verse. Using the human body as an analogy for the local congregation, Paul said, “But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.”

      He put ears, eyes, hands and feet in just the place that He wanted them on our bodies. In like manner, He put us, just where He wanted us. Why are we here? Because God wants us to be here.

      When we come to grips with this aspect of God’s providential care for His church, we learn quite a bit about how we should conduct ourselves in this congregation. We learn this especially in the context of the body analogy in I Corinthians 12.

      First, we should be happy to be here. Can you imagine an ear or an eye griping because they are part of the body? Of course not. They fit in the body and have their purpose and, by nature, are happy to fill their role. Just so, we in the congregation should recognize that God’s wisdom is behind our presence here. We should be happy to trust him. If He wanted us here, then we ought to be here.

      Second, if God wanted us here it is because we have a special role we can fulfill. Each part of the body has its own function. As Paul said, none of them should view themselves as any less a part of the body just because they do not do what some other part does. Just so, in the congregation we should all realize that we have a function to serve. Just because we do not do what another member can do, does not make us less important.

      This brings us to our third and most important point. If God wanted us here because we could fill a special role, then we need to be doing our duty. What a hindrance to the human body when part of it shuts down. Talk to someone whose eyes have quit working, whose legs have become crippled or whose mind is no longer functioning. We view that as a tragedy.

      In like manner, it is a tragedy when a member of the congregation does not function. If we are here because God wants us here to accomplish some role, we need to accomplish it.

      How do we know what our role is? There is nothing fantastical or mystical about this. Rather, we simply do what we can do and God will use us to His glory.

      This week, we must make sure we are all doing what we can do. God has us here for a reason. He wants to use us to His glory in the kingdom. We simply have to get to work.

Edwin L. Crozier