First Corinthians 12:12-26:  

Different Members in One Body

12:12 For just as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body – though many – are one body, so too is Christ. 12:13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks or slaves or free, we were all made to drink of the one Spirit. 12:14 For in fact the body is not a single member, but many. 12:15 If the foot says, “Since I am not a hand, I am not part of the body,” it does not lose its membership in the body because of that. 12:16 And if the ear says, “Since I am not an eye, I am not part of the body,” it does not lose its membership in the body because of that. 12:17 If the whole body were an eye, what part would do the hearing? If the whole were an ear, what part would exercise the sense of smell? 12:18 But as a matter of fact, God has placed each of the members in the body just as he decided. 12:19 If they were all the same member, where would the body be? 12:20 So now there are many members, but one body. 12:21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you,” nor in turn can the head say to the foot, “I do not need you.” 12:22 On the contrary, those members that seem to be weaker are essential, 12:23 and those members we consider less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our unpresentable members are clothed with dignity, 12:24 but our presentable members do not need this. Instead, God has blended together the body, giving greater honor to the lesser member, 12:25 so that there may be no division in the body, but the members may have mutual concern for one another. 12:26 If one member suffers, everyone suffers with it. If a member is honored, all rejoice with it.  (First Corinthians 12:12-26 NET Bible)

Covenant

God the Healer is an online community where Erin M Diericx and guests writers post weekly devotions on the website based on the revised lectionary.  The devotions center around the theme healing and its three dimensions:  physical, psychosocial, and spiritual.  Healing does not just happen on the physical dimension but also the psychosocial and spiritual dimensions.  Ms.  Diericx hopes that her devotions will help individuals come to understand and realize where and how God has healed them in their own lives.

God the Healer is an online community which:

1.believes in the Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;

2.believes Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God, died for our sins, so we have eternal life with God;

3.believers are called to love one another, even their enemies, based on the new commandment Jesus Christ gave his disciples (John 13:34);

4.is an ecumenical online Christian community;

5.sees pass the differences and advocates for God’s love, grace, and forgiveness.

At the end of each devotion, there will be reflection questions and a comment box where individuals can share and discuss their thoughts, ideas, and opinions.  Since we all come from different backgrounds and experiences, we need to have an understanding that we are bond to disagreements where we will need to disagree.  Our different ideas and opinions represent the different parts in the one body of Jesus Christ (1st Corinthians 12:12). No community can be just a single individual; rather a community can only survive with a team of individuals who work together.  Each individual brings his/her own experiences, ideas, skills, backgrounds, and visions, which adds to the culture of the community.  Just like the eye cannot do the work of the hand (12:20-21), the accountant cannot do the work of the engineer and vise verse visa.  If we kept the tax collector, prostitute, or other sinners from knowing the Triune God, the kingdom of heaven would be a lonely place.  In the kingdom of heaven where God reigns, no sinner will be left out in the cold, if they repent to God.  God loves all of his children.  The loyal Christian is no more holy or has more dignity than the murder whom repents in the eyes of God (12:23-24).  Therefore, when an individual of community is hurt, everyone else feels the same pain; when an individual is honored, the rest of the community rejoices and celebrates (12:25-26).  Thus, this online community will respect, uplift, and prayer for each individual who take part in the online discussions.

By “signing” this covenant, you agree to:

1.Read the devotions with an open mind;

2.Keep your comments construction, not condemning;

3.Agree to disagree when no agreement can be reached.

Please take a few moments to introduce yourself through the comment box as a way of signing this covenant.