"Duly Noted"

 "And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe." (John 19:35 KJV)

  "And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly - not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don't lord over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor." (1 Peter 5:1-4 NLT)

 Just in case you might have messed the memo, these seven verses are all about, "Care of the Body of Jesus," which is the same thing as the Body of Christ! Just as you and I, this body that Jesus was born in, way back in the Town of Bethlehem, was just a tent, a tabernacle, a shell that needed to be cared for, as we care for these tents that we dwell in, too. The only difference, is that His tent, was the first to be glorified! 

 That said, you might have noticed that most of the topics I am sharing on, are topics that deal with how we treat each other, individually, as well as corporately, within the church. We are the body of Christ, and just like this tent we dwell in needs attention, so too, the body of Christ, which is the church, needs to be cared for, and watched over.

 Yesterday I shared something from Hosea, which might not have appeared to make the connection with the verse of the day. Well, believe it or not, God's promises and the way He fulfills promises, sometimes are, shall we say, obscure and damaging, to say the least. In this instance, we, the body of Christ, care for one another; but the Father also will assist and make alterations, as they are needed. 

 Without making morbid examples of what I am talking about, let's just say that these tents we currently dwell within, they really aren't all that important! I mean, we should honor them, because God has made them, 'for we are fearfully and wonderfully made,' but just like everything else we have, or own, we do not take them with us when we go! 

 Therefore, when God might use one of us, say, to get the attention of others, this body is the least thing that He is concerned about. I know that might not sound all that loving, but God's biggest concern is about eternal souls, those, matter most! We sometimes get so distracted by the suffering of others, by disease or death, we forget about the big picture, and the loss of one, or some, is sometimes meant for the salvation of another, or many others!   

 Now, about this other verse, from Peter; this is not Peter asking for elders to conform to a certain standard, which he is making as a suggestion; but is more like a warning about how that they should watch over the flock. I know that many of you might not think of it as such, but the hint is in the final statement about when the Great Shepherd appears; anytime that there are rewards, there will also be consequences for those who don't do what they should. 

 That might sound harsh, but when your life is to be governed by love, the consequences of not loving don't really need to be discussed or spelled out, they just happen... 

""Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, 'Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you don't plant and gathering crops you didn't cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.' "But the master replied, 'You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn't plant and gathered crops I didn't cultivate, why didn't you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.' "Then he ordered, 'Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"" (Matthew 25:24-30 NLT)