People, not a Person

Posted on October 16, 2018 by America's Keswick in Freedom Fighters

“Who once were not a people but are now the people of God, Who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” – 1^st Peter 2:10

I seem to find myself struggling at times when I think I’m alone, only a person. The feeling of being isolated is a common disorder a lot of Christians can fall into and allow themselves to be alienated from the Body. Before conversion to Jesus I was a person among people, although I have an earthly family and belong to an ethnic group living in a country of people the same nationality, there really isn’t a “People” designation. In fact we have made it so we are individuals and have been given rights to express ourselves in order not to be grouped to anyone else. The closest we come to is marriage but even that in the secular world is as disposable as a diaper. Where do you belong?

The answer is not so much where, but to Whom you belong. One of the biggest assets of being a Christian should be the unity and oneness we have with each other. The Scriptures seem to put a lot of emphasis on unity and oneness. Jesus prayed, in what I consider the Lord’s Prayer in John 17, “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

There is a oneness that brings corporate people into a body, a person into a people. This idea of “a people” is to be brought under the authority of Jesus and His word, to be preached and taught in order to prepare God’s people for the works of ministry (Ephesians 4:10). The burden of ministry is only made light when the load is evened out and accomplished by many. We are individuals but there cannot be individualism amongst us. Paul writes in Ephesians 4 about the purpose of being a part of the Body of Christ, “the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.” He goes on to say, “That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting”.

We should be a People, not just a person, this is accomplished by recognizing our identity in Christ. When we know to Whom we belong we will know where we belong. There seems to be a lot of promotion, even in our Churches, being individualized, pitting one against the other, boasting about their “good deeds.” This ought not to be, let’s be a people, not a person, let’s start thinking we belong to the body of Christ and “To walk worthy of the calling with which you were called”, Amen!

Written by Rob Russomano: Rob Russomano is married to Terri, and serves with her as full time staff members. He is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and is also available as a speaker of the grace of God with a message of Hope for church events. You can contact him at rrussomano@americaskeswick.org.

The Daily Bible Reading: Matthew 9-10 | You can download our 2018 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here

Daily Quote: “God cares nothing about our manmade divisions and groups and is not interested in our self-righteous, hair-splitting, and religious, man-made formulas and organizations. He wants you to recognize the UNITY of the body of Christ.”- M.R. DeHaan

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. Lamentations 3:21