A Caring Church - Introduction

The Caring Church - Introduction:

Ultimately, our faithfulness to Christ’s commands affects the health of the body of Christ. In other words, if we care for others, the church will grow in maturity and unity in Christ. If we do not care for others, the church will wither and eventually die as a local expression of the body of Christ. Churches made up of members that do not show genuine care and concern for each other just will not last, nor will the hand of God bless their ministries. They are a terrible testimony to the care and love that Jesus Christ has shown us by offering His life as a ransom on the cross, for us to walk in the spirit of forgiveness and love. Churches that do not glorify God, will have no effect on building strong believers and followers of Christ. Do you realize that believers should not have to look beyond the body of Christ to have their needs met? We are meant to be a self-sustaining body. There is only one way for the church to function as it should: believers must commit to give of themselves on behalf of others. It should be our goal to have caring hearts and build godly relationships among believers that are at the center of God’s purpose for the church. Part of caring is keeping each other informed about how we’re doing. And there are countless other ways to serve others, such as loving each other according to the Word of God. No one person cannot meet every need, but you can commit to serving an individual or a small group, in which God brings into your inner circle of influence.

If, in order to care for them, you surrender self-focused preferences about resources and time, the Lord will bless you with more joy and contentment than you've ever known. To serve others before serving yourself is to practice authentic Christianity. If and when believers commit to meeting as many needs as the Lord brings to their attention, then a self-centered and self-righteous church can be transformed, becoming a true body of believers who function together for the glory of God. We need each other, so when a brother or sister “falls,” let’s be like Christ.. Reflect on what's important, forget your agenda and lend a help hand. That’s how caring Christians can build a caring church body of believers. Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, “Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up.” We must all remember that there will come a day when we will need emotional, physical and spiritual help from others along this journey called LIFE.