"Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?" (1 Corinthians 10:16-- NIV)
Our text is inexhaustible. I feel as though I still only "scratch the surface" of its power------------ "participation!" The Interlinear Bible tells us that the Greek word is, "koinoia." It means, "partnership, literally, participation, social interaction, or (pecuniary) benefaction," viz, financial contribution. You probably never heard that last part before. I know I didn't.
It was a sad day for America when the decision to perform the National Anthem by some celebrity replaced the audience participation in singing the National Anthem. (Be sure to see the best singing and "atmosphere" of the National Anthem I have seen in years on our Blog site-- notice the athletes' participation and response). The vast majority of Americans today are no longer participants; they are just observers. Find someone who does it more impressively and we will watch him do it. But whose "anthem" is it anyway? I still sing the Nation Anthem, even when people turn and look at me as though I am some nut case. They don't remember the generation of participators.
Our text speaks of "participation in the blood of Christ....and....the body of Christ." The original text reveals that this is more than just "feeding on Christ" at His Table. This is our "anthem." It is our "participation, partnership, interaction, contribution" in the Church of Jesus Christ in the earth, "which is His Body." Goods friends of ours recently sent us a check for our mission efforts this fall. They live a life of, "koinonia." In the memo section they simply wrote, "Go!" Everything they do for us is really partnership, interaction, contribution with us, a participation in our "participation in the body of Christ."
The call to you and me today is to participate, partner, interact, contribute in the Church of Jesus, and thereby to a lost and dying world. Don't be as the mass of humanity at sporting events who just stand in mesmerized awe at someone else's "singing." Sing-------- participate, partner, interact, contribute "in the blood....and....body of Christ," in your house, your neighborhood, your city, your nation. Be as that young 18 year old who, after he emptied his wallet in the collection plate, wrote a note of consummate Christianity, "and my life."
Father, in Jesus' Name, may I never let someone else do my singing. Amen.
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View the American National Anthem "participation" at:
"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
