Not A Human Body

1 Corinthians 12:27   Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

Ephesians 5:30   For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

Because of a recent shift in demographics due to increased lifespans, we have Gerontology, which scientifically studies the aging process.  Aging is a combination of biological changes that appear to occur inevitably and irreversibly with the passage of time, eventually resulting in death.

God does not forsake his people when they grow old, but He helps them through the aging process.

Isaiah 46:4  And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.

Our personal aging process changes us; however, the body of Christ is not a human body like yours.  It remains unchanged by human condition; only our perception of it changes!

1.     THE HUMAN SENSES (HEARING, SIGHT) AND STRENGTH FADE WITH INCREASING AGE.

Many who need assistance reject it out of embarassment.  In the church, we can be guilty of thinking that any appeal of the ministry or the Spirit is for someone else, not us – we don’t see/hear!

2.     THE AGING BODY SUFFERS AN INCREASED LIKELIHOOD OF CHRONIC DISEASES.

Disease generally appears sporadically throughout life, but the elderly are especially susceptible to chronic debilitating disease.  These are the people in the church who “can’t get over it!”

3.     THE HUMAN BODY EVENTUALLY LOSES ITS ABILITY TO BEGET CHILDREN.

Years in church culture leave us isolated from evangelism; we must guard against the temptation to turn the church into an institution that ministers only to us, while ignoring the unsaved!

4.     THE AGING BODY SUFFERS A MARKED DECREASE IN FLEXIBILITY.

Joints ache as they wear out from years of friction and arthritis develops; people slow down due to pain.  In the church, joints are people working together – we must be tolerant of one another!

5.     THE HUMAN BODY EVENTUALLY GROWS WEAKER AND ADAPTS TO ITS LIMITATIONS.

Your body grows weaker as it bears the scars of a lifetime, but the body of Christ is forever young!  Its only limitations are imposed by your mindset.  The Head of the church has no limitations!

In addition to the body, the human mind feels the effects of aging.  But it is a crucial error to project our aging mindset onto the body of Christ!

1 Corinthians 1:10              Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Philippians 2:5   Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (KJV)

1.     The aging mind becomes more cautious and increasingly dependent.  (FAITH)

2.     The aging mind loses memory and suffers longer recall for existing memory.  (THANKFULNESS)

3.     The human personality changes with time, becoming more humorless and irritable.  (JOY)

4.     The aging mind feels powerless and frightened due to the dominant youth culture.  (PEACE)

5.     The aging mind tends to fixate on loss of loved ones and death.  (HOPE)

One theory states that many of the changes of old age are due to an out-of-synch biological clock.  All organisms need this clock to live in harmony with natural rhythms like day/night and seasons.  If deprived of natural external cues (light, temperature) the human body develops its own free-running clock of not quite 24 hours.  If isolated over time, it drifts slowly out of phase with the natural world.  Within the body itself, clocks of various systems can get out-of-synch with the master clock (brain).

After World War II, German students volunteered to help rebuild a cathedral in England, a casualty of the bombings.  Debate broke out on how to best restore a large statue of Jesus with His arms outstretched bearing the inscription “Come Unto Me.”  Careful patching could repair all damage to the statue except for Christ’s hands, which had been destroyed by bomb fragments.  Finally, the workers reached a decision.  Today, the statue of Jesus has no hands, and the new inscription reads:  “Christ Has No Hands But Ours.”  We are the body of Christ; let’s show it to the world!