If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

1 Corinthians 12:26-27 (ESV)

 

Being the embodiment of grace and truth enables Jesus to live in complete obedience to God's will. Similarly, as we immerse ourselves in His grace and truth, we discover our belonging community of children, defined by radical grace and unwavering truth.

Grace is the foundation upon which we rest God's gift of righteousness, and truth is how we are empowered to live and practice righteous habits. These two go together. Without truth, grace becomes an excuse for sin rather than God's protection from sin. Without grace, truth becomes a justification for going above and beyond the norm, which is not God's approach to liberating people from wrong thoughts and beliefs.

Imagine what our church community would be like if grace and truth were the building blocks of who we are and what we do. People will feel safe and secure, allowing them to form deep and genuine friendships that extend beyond the exchange of pleasantries.

Instead of concealing our wounds, we develop the courage to share our stories to bring about healing, hope, and wholeness. But if we choose to isolate ourselves for fear or shame, we deny ourselves and others the blessings of community and connection. We are practically saying, "I don't belong here, and you don't belong with me" through our suffering silence. Then everything we do at church is done purely for the sake of doing it, with no real breakthrough or freedom.

True community and belonging flow from our willingness to be open, imperfect, and vulnerable. Our acceptance of others cannot exceed our acceptance of ourselves. In the light of the gospel, how genuine we want to be with others depends on how truthful we are with ourselves and how much grace we receive to bless and influence us for greater good.