Thoughts About Dead Skin, the Body of Christ, and Being One

I've been giving some thought lately to Jesus' prayer in John 17 about our being one just as He and the Father are one.

In the past, I think I equated "being one" with believing the same thing. I've since realized that holding onto that definition is very restrictive, especially when we include beliefs that aren't quite so clearly defined in Scripture as we think they are and insist that belief in those is what grants people access to this "oneness". I've seen first hand how destructive that is. People who were dear friends quite literally can't even be friends with me anymore because I don't believe exactly what they do about the Kingdom of God. I wonder what they think about the Body. Am I nothing more than some old skin that can be sloughed off without consequence? Have I nothing more to offer than being an unsightly mole that they would rather not think about?

My understanding of the Body of Christ exponentially expanded once I quit focusing on lesser and disputable "qualifications" and put my focus back onto Jesus. There are quite a lot of people I am "one" with. That's actually quite exciting, and I'm learning to see how people love Jesus and desire to follow Him, even if they hold to some beliefs with which I disagree or do and say things that don't represent Him well.

A friend, who had visited many, many different local churches of various denominations, once remarked that he found Jesus in each of them. Jesus wasn't necessarily represented in everything that each group did or said, but He was there nonetheless. The trick was to be looking for Him instead of being distracted by the other things that were, well, distracting. I admit to being distracted a lot.

But I'm also getting a desire to be on a mission to find Jesus in the midst of fellow believers. I have thought about going to some of the different churches in our area - just to meet some of the other believers in our town. My husband and I have also been invited to some local house churches, Bible studies, book clubs, and other ways in which believers gather. I honestly don't want to commit to any one of them in particular. I want to visit all of them and see and hear what Jesus is doing in their midst. What is happening in the Body of Christ? What is the Head telling each part to do? Inquiring minds want to know...

Of course, time restraints limit how involved I could be in any one gathering. I may not be back to one for 6 months while I see what other believers are doing. It's possible some might get discouraged or feel slighted if I don't commit to their group. I understand that. But how would our understanding of the Body of Christ change if we look for Jesus where we've never been and spend time encouraging others that we would not have otherwise met? Besides, I'm not looking for a place to belong. We already belong together - Christ already joined us together. We're already a part of the same Big Group, aren't we?

I suppose I'm sounding a bit like one of those flaky, church shopping/hopping, non-committal, immature, tossed-around-by-every-wind-of-doctrine kind of lone rangers. Or at least that's what I would have called myself a few years ago. That's OK. Maybe I am. But I'm a part of the Body of Christ all the same. And so are you, they, them, those, him, her, and that group over there. And I want to find out what Jesus is doing with the members of this Body of His that He loves so much. And maybe if I keep focused on Jesus, I'll see how He sees the Body and love it like He does. Then maybe I'll understand what being one is.