“I joined a homegroup (Bible Study or life group) two years ago and as time passes, more and more of each member’s character is coming forward,” says Renette. “It dawned on me the other day that we honestly do not have anything in common. No one does the same job or has the same friends or enjoys the same hobbies. No one would have met if it wasn’t for the homegroup. The only thing in common is our love for Jesus.”
The Body of Christ is a familiar analogy in the Christian faith. We are one body, all playing an important part, all brothers and sister in Christ. In my mind the Body of Christ is a well-functioning, smoothly-oiled machine—no hiccups. Everyone in it would be well-mannered, well-educated and we would all kind of be the same.
I joined a homegroup (Bible Study or life group) two years ago and as time passes, more and more of each member’s character is coming forward. It dawned on me the other day that we honestly do not have anything in common. No one does the same job or has the same friends or enjoys the same hobbies. No one would have met if it wasn’t for the homegroup. The only thing in common is our love for Jesus.
Our need for Him and motivation to share His love is what brings us together—that is the only common thread. If you take Jesus out of my home group, we really wouldn’t get along or even tolerate each other. Add Him in and you have a bunch of people who just want to love each other. We want to be there for the bad and ugly, we want to celebrate the victories. We show up when someone runs out of gas on the highway, we help move people into their new homes. We show up at each other’s work with a surprise coffee, we do early morning airport runs and late-night prayer intervention.
We do life together because Jesus does life with us.
We have professors, missionaries; people over 60 and under 30. We have married couples, divorcees, singles and widows. We have people with difficult testimonies and people with nothing-crazy testimonies. We have the well-travelled and the ‘I don’t have a passport’ types. We have it all. And we have Jesus.
The beauty of this bunch of people is that in our differences, you can clearly see the love of God. Clearly. The other day one member was filled by the Holy Spirit when prayed for. This happened next to a pool. A pool. Yes, we are the funny bunch that goes from crazy food nights to in-depth prayer sessions…next to the pool.
Through our differences, through the cracks of bad decisions, horrible experiences and hurtful memories, we let God’s light shine. Because no one fits the mould—because there honestly is no mould or description for this group—His light gets to shine so clearly.
Our imperfections make way for His perfection. Our lack of words and experiences opens the door for God to intervene because we definitely know we are out of depth.
I love this mismatched group of people. I am one of them. I love that I do not stand out, because we all do. We all are misfits that come together to share the one thing that fits. Jesus.
Renette is the Marketing Services Manager for OM Africa. During her free time, she enjoys discussing odd scenarios with friends and mastering the art of a good cup of coffee.