Little of People and Much of Christ

If there’s one thing I had to say I’ve become more thankful for this year than I ever have before, it is the body of Christ.

I’ve lived in four different places within a year’s span. One of those was the place of college, one was my childhood home, one was my in-law’s home, and now we are in Brooklyn, NY. The body of Christ I engaged with has looked very different in those different places, yet I have found it has the same unity. The same purpose. The same function.

I have seen people wanting and people struggling in their walks. I have seen people growing, at slow speeds and at fast speeds. I have walked with people I know so very well and others I just see from afar when the body gathers.

I have experienced such rich fellowship, specifically in high school and college. In entering into this new phase of adult life, I didn’t know what to hope for as far as community or friendships. And perhaps this is strange, but I have found such a great joy and contentment in...

Expecting little of people and much of Christ.

Expecting little of people enables a freedom and joy of discovery in meeting new people and developing new friendships. The lack of expectation leads to a greater gratitude for what is bestowed and developed naturally, and by the blessing of the Lord. It allows for more open eyes and hands to receive who may not have been sought out or anticipated at the beginning, yet turns out to be a wonderful, unexpected blessing. With this, there is a surrender of right and privilege of friendships and relationships to the Lord; instead, recognizing that they are gifts to be treasured and taken care of.

Yet, we should be expecting much of Christ in their lives. Faith enough to know that He knows them, loves them, cares for them, rebukes them, teaches them. My prayers have changed in this last year as I pray for people. I hardly ever ask God to do specific things for people, as if He were not aware of what that person needs, and as if I know better and need to tell Him so. Instead, I pray for the person. I pray for the eyes of their heart to be open. I pray for them to willingly engage and walk with God in whatever He may be teaching them and bringing him/her through. If I have insight as to what those things may be, then I pray for those.

To expect much of Christ and little of people is not to belittle individuals and who they are. Rather, it is to recognize the human limits of striving and change, of goodness and pure motives. We all are sinners and fall short of the glory of God and who we are intended to be. It’s to recognize that He searches out the hearts and minds of individuals and knows their motives. It’s to recognize that Christ exceeds all limits and bounds, and the work He does and can do in human lives is tremendous.

Expecting little of people and much of Christ prevents us from attempting to make people out to whom we would like or expect them to be, but rather, enable an environment where they are free to be just as they are. It enables them a place where they have the freedom to grow and be encouraged.

In the body of Christ at large in the world, we don’t usually share a lot of similarities. We are rather diverse. It is an easy reaction to mentally “divide” the body of Christ into smaller segments in order to compare and contrast, to analyze and understand. Yet, I fear in doing that, we miss the opportunity to see an intrinsic beauty within it that cannot be explained or reasoned away. There is one body and one spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father. We are comprised of many parts with the purpose of unity.

And expecting much of the Father and Lord means to recognize these truths about the body and remembering what and why it has been bestowed. It means to humbly receive the gift of adoption into this family of Christ, expecting much of what can be done through the works of redemption and salvation in people’s lives. It remembers and holds fast to the knowledge of the promise for those who do not yet know Him, that through the sacrifice of Christ, they too, may be redeemed and transformed. It remembers that we were once there ourselves and to never doubt the power of the Gospel and the saving grace of Christ.

There is such a gratitude and thankfulness that has grown in expecting little of people and much of Christ. We are a messy, diverse, young, old, immature, and always growing bunch. Yet, that is what makes the body of Christ beautiful, unexpected, dynamic, and always surprising. It is a lifelong pursuit of growing in the grace and knowledge of God. It is a wonderful journey to do in the fellowship of believers, all that they may be and are, and for that, I am truly thankful.