By David Bragg
A doctor was enjoying lunch in a room full of people. Without a word he slowly got up and walked out of the room. No one there was aware of the danger this doctor was facing until his lifeless body was discovered a few minutes later. A morsel of food had lodged in his windpipe, and he choked to death (David Gibson, The Challenger, Carbondale, IL).
What makes this story even sadder is the fact that this doctor was eating lunch in a room filled with other doctors any one of whom could have likely saved his life. He didn’t ask.
The church consists of the saved. We know what it is like to languish in sin. We know what it is like to be redeemed. We know what it is like to have a place where we belong: the church. It is here that we can serve, encourage, and bear one another's burdens (Gal. 6:1). Because of what Jesus did, purchasing us with His own blood (Acts 20:28), we are family (1 Tim. 3:15).
The Christian who belongs to the world has turned his back on the marvelous gifts of God. He is like that doctor who died in solitude while those who were willing and able to help stood by unaware. Because of what Jesus has done for us, we love and care for each other and share the Good News with those yet lost in sin. In Jesus they can find a place to belong now and forever.
- David Bragg serves as one of the ministers at the Northwest Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC and is co-editor of BulletinGold. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.nwchurchofchrist.com/ or his blog: http://davidbragg.blogspot.com/
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