2 Timothy 1:1-2

2 Timothy 1:1-2  Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dear son: grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Corinthians 12:27-31  Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.  Are all apostles?  Are all prophets?  Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?  Do all have gifts of healing?  Do all speak in tongues?  Do all interpret?  But eagerly desire the greater gifts.

Are all apostles?  The obvious answer is no, but all Christians have a place in the body, even young believers.  "What is the will of God FOR OUR LIVES?" is a question we should ask ourselves.  We have a place in the body of Christ whether we know what it is or not.  Our vision of the body of Christ and our place within it must always be sharp or we will tend to live our lives for ourselves and not for Christ.  If we lose our real purpose for living, we grow weary of living for Christ or become distracted by other demands upon our lives.  Then our faith will wither, our prayers will cease, and the Bible will become like old folk tales.  We will sink back into a fleshly life, one not lived in the spirit of Christ. Therefore, we must always remember WHO WE ARE in Christ and who He is in us.  We are not of the world; we are not seeking the things of the world.  We are not making this world our home.  Our inheritance is God himself.  If we seek this world, John says the love of the Lord is not in us.  If we seek our will only, the love of the Lord is absent from our lives, for those who love the Lord desire to do his will.  Christians should desire to be with the Lord, in his presence.  Just as we desire to be with those who love us, we should also desire to be with Christ, the lover of our souls.   

Each of us has a will.  This is not necessarily good as far as living a holy life, for we can do good, and we can do evil. When Adam and Eve fell, they were cast out of the Garden because they could do evil, and they chose evil by not choosing to obey the will of God.  Consequently, they were isolated from God's intimate presence.  But when Jesus Christ came, He brought this opportunity of intimacy with God back to man; however, this time a more wonderful, permanent experience could be realized.  With the knowledge of GOOD AND EVIL, people can choose to serve God WILLINGLY by placing their trust in Jesus Christ because it is HE who makes it possible to draw close to God.  He makes it possible for God to have what He desires and that is true intimacy and fellowship with his creation, so much so, that people IN CHRIST will be known forever as sons and daughters of the Most High.   

So what is your place in the body of Christ?  We Christians are alive in him whether we realize it or not.  Therefore, we should serve God in the flesh with full knowledge of our inheritance of an eternal and intimate relationship with him. We should serve God where He has placed us with the passion and zeal that comes with understanding who we are in his timeless domain.  We are God's dearly loved adopted sons and daughters.  We are the apple of his eye.  He paid a magnificent price for this relationship: the death of his son.  We owe Jesus Christ so much, but He did all that He did for the joy set before him: our complete redemption and victory over death, including eternal life with our heavenly Father.  Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  (Hebrews 12:1-2)