Written by Grace Pouch, a contemporary writer and teacher.
My Mom was out walking on the beach one day, praying and asking the Lord to give her a fresh word of encouragement to pass along to the church that she pastors. She saw a small clump of coral at her feet, and she sensed God say, “Consider the coral.” She picked it up and studied it—as one would study scriptures—and found it packed with truth about life together as a congregation. A small piece of coral is actually made up of many tiny individual organisms. These organisms share a structural skeleton that binds them together as a living community, and these communities form a vast reef under the sea. Healthy reefs, made up of many different types of corals, bring life and vitality to the ocean, give shelter to other living things, and protect coastlines. It is a beautiful image of the Church: a vast network of congregations of all sorts and sizes, made up of millions of individual souls, united by one Lord, one faith, and one baptism to radiate God’s love to the world.
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. [1 Corinthians 12:27]
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