Testimony: Part 3

We knew that this was to be our church home and that we wanted to really plug in and find our place in the body of Christ. We were meeting all the families and getting to know everyone along with their children. I’ll never forget an incredible sermon we heard about the body of Christ. Each member of the church is like a brick. And we are built together into a wall as living bricks (“stones” the Bible calls us) to build the “church”, because the church is not an actual physical structure--it’s US. If we were not built together, but if we, as bricks, just came together every Sunday in a pile, said hello, sang some songs, and then left to be discarded bricks again, would that serve any purpose? NO! We must be joined together for a purpose. My brick is joined closely to other bricks in the house to build the church and the kingdom. I cannot just be a “lone-ranger” brick and build anything. I need others. And I am naturally going to be more closely connected to other bricks/stones because of our connection or our place in the body, but that brick/stone will be surrounded by other bricks that I am not as closely connected to, etc. This revelation freed me from feeling like I had to be BEST friends with everyone in the body. I can love all, but it is not possible for me to make a “best friend” connection with every brick in the body. But for a perfectionist, this is a hard revelation to grasp. You feel like you are somehow failing some people. In this picture, I realized that those bricks that I touch are reaching out to those that I can’t. But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired 1 Corinthians 12:18.
Relationships are the key. Jesus walked in relationship and so must we. We need each other.
When most people hear the word “accountability” they start getting defensive. With a stiff neck and chin lifted, they chide, “Nobody better tell me how to live my life. That’s between me and God.” Or, “If someone tried to keep me accountable I’d make sure they remembered what they’ve done wrong.”
Biblical accountability is not coming up to a brother or sister in Christ and blasting them with a list of their sins like you are some Holy Ghost hitman. Rather, it is coming alongside them in love, talking with them, relating with them, asking questions, or praying. But it must be with a person that you have already built a strong bridge of relationship with in the past. Otherwise, if you try to hold someone accountable for their actions that you have no relationship with, chances are they will think, “Who do you think you are telling me this? I don’t even know you that well?” It is just too odd and will not produce the benefits desired. Biblical accountability is speaking the truth in love to one another, and sometimes it is not easy, but it is necessary for growth. Sometimes the truth really does hurt, but my true friends have been honest enough with me to say what I have needed to hear out of love for me, and I have benefited from their honesty and have grown in my walk and faith in God. We need each other. Sometimes we go along with life and are blind to things that are hindering our walk with God that other people can help bring to the surface, whether they mean to or not, just by talking with us. Or maybe as they start asking us how we are really doing (not just the casual, “Hi, how are you?”, but really digging in to find out what’s going on in our life) they begin to ask about an area that maybe we don’t want to share with them. It’s at that time that we have to ask ourselves, “Why don’t I want to share about this and be transparent? Is there something I’m trying to hide or avoid about this? Could it be that I need to work on overcoming some sin in this area, and I’m just offended that they’re trying to bring this up?” Your friend is just trying to be a friend. They are trying to help you walk out things in a Godly manner and are there to help you, not condemn you. That is what an accountability partner/friendship is for. It is not always easy. The Bible says, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” Proverbs 27:6. Thank God that there are friends that are willing to be true friends and are not afraid to ask the hard questions in order to help us grow up in God!


I know this has been long, and some of it not directly my "testimony", but it is what God has placed on my heart, and I wanted to share it with my readers. May we be faithful to the local church bodies that He has placed us in as we provide our "body" part.