We Belong to Each Other

"For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." (Romans 12:4-5, emphasis mine)

What does it mean that "each member belongs to all the others"?

That was the question that wen through my mind when I read these verses recently. What does it really look like?

These verses come in the middle of a passage that is well known as talking about spiritual gifts. About how we all have a part to play in the body of Christ.

As I reflected on this more, I realized that this makes sense when you think about how the body works. Every part of a body needs the others to do their job in order to function. They depend on each other.

The same is true of the body of Christ. We need each other to be doing what God has given us to do, so we as a body can function properly. We belong to each other in the sense that we need each other to do what God has called us to do - as a body and individually.

If we belong to each other and are part of one body, then we have a responsibility in how we treat each other. It changes the way we should be acting towards one another.

Paul goes on in the book of Romans to describe what it looks like for us to live as members of Christ's body who belong to each other. The way we should live and the way we should interact with each other.

To read the words of Paul it sounds straightforward enough, but living it can sometimes be more difficult than it sounds. Paul describes a was of living that is different from our fallen sinful nature. A way of living that requires us to allow God to transform us and make us more like Christ.

Paul gives us a picture of what this looks like in Roman 12:1-2, where he writes:

"Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing, and perfect will."

Living as the body of Christ that describes us as, starts with surrender. A choice on our part to let God have control and transform us.


What does Romans say about what this kind of living looks like?

That's the question I'll be exploring in my posts for a while. Romans is full of instruction on what this looks like - good, practical instructions that can help us understand.