I was with a neighbour the other day talking about another neighbour who'd had a car accident. Her and her daughter had similar injuries but her daughter had broken her foot, the mother had torn ligaments. What my neighbour said fascinated me. She said that the torn ligaments were not so noticeable to begin with and would take longer to heal.
In Ephesians 4:16 it says "from whom the whole body, joined and knit together tightly by ligaments, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love"
As I keep being burdened by a need to pray for unity in The Church this really has struck me. I wonder how many of the divisions in the Body of Christ weren't noticed at first, were just a bit painful, but then as time went on one knew something was wrong but wasn't sure what. But then when the problem is discovered it will take a long time to heal. This is, I think, why its a burden few want to carry. If I'd have known that it was so hard maybe I wouldn't have taken it on either :)
But anyway this is a long drawn out process. In fact once a ligament is torn then it often never heals the same. Also it is not uncommon for people with torn ligaments to get depressed. I wonder sometimes if that goes on in our congregations as a collective, not as individuals, but as a corporate body. There is a malady, a feeling of not wanting things to change, of needing to potter on in the same old same old just because to do anything else takes too much.
What we must realise too, which is encouraging, is that even when a ligament is severely torn and the person may never walk again the body is still intaked, just not able to function and be as effective as it should be. Perhaps too this is why we often wonder why The Church seems so ineffective in some areas, but that could just be because it is a useless ligament that we need to wait for it to heal.
Father God we need You to do a might miracle and heal these torn ligaments, to help us see the tearing and to try to use these joints when things are still torn.
Amen!
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