Hooked Together!

'All of you together are the temple.' 1 Corinthians 3:16 NLT

I read a story of a little boy who was playing outside when a neighbor asked him where his brother was. ‘In the house,’ he replied. ‘We were playing a duet on the piano—but I finished first!’

 

That's funny but it isn't what God intended when He called us to work together! It’s not a competition. In Bible days Roman soldier's shields were designed so they could literally be hooked together. Each man fought for his entire line. Paul lists the people he was hooked to; he called them his ‘fellow workers.’ (Romans 16:3 NKJV) Speaking to the church, he wrote, ‘All of you together are the temple of God…Everything belongs to you, and you belong to Christ.’ (1 Corinthians 3:16–23 NLT)

 

Notice a couple things that will make you think:

(1) Only together do we have everything we need.

(2) It’s about whom we belong to, not what belongs to us.

 

Experts say we need to hear something at least seven times before it registers. And this is particularly true when it comes to acknowledging our character defects or flaws in our plans. Dr John Maxwell writes: ‘After a period of frustration, I humbled myself and asked for advice. They told me things I didn’t want to hear. But I needed to learn to listen. And I learned to pay attention to things that struck a sensitive chord within me; it was often a signal that it was something I needed to improve. The things that upset me most, or that I resisted most, were usually what I needed to work on most. And if I gave myself time to reflect on what I was told and seek improvement, I usually improved dramatically.’ Don’t be defensive; learn from the people you’re hooked to!

 

You are Loved!