Being the Body

Things are almost back to normal after our mission trip to the Pine Ridge Lakota Reservation in South Dakota…almost. Reflecting back on the trip, two things jump out at me. First the dreadful living conditions at the reservation. I know some of these conditions are self-inflicted…you can find those who simply do not care to expend any effort to better themselves. But I also know that some (and I got the impression that many at the rez) need help in order to build a better life for themselves and their children. As I saw the living conditions there and worked with the children, God repeatedly brought to my mind Micah 6:8, “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” I will confess that I do not have the answers to the problems at Pine Ridge, and there are many, but if more people would strive to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God before these people, I believe it would make a tremendous difference in their present and future days. The second thing that jumped out at me was that when we set aside denominational and doctrinal differences we become the body of Christ. This is not to say those distinctions and interpretations are not important, but it’s only when we work together to further the Kingdom and stop squabbling about non-essential beliefs that we morph into the Body of Christ.