1 Corinthians 12:12-14 (NIV)
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

I stopped in the bank this morning to cash a check; just another stop through a place I frequent. My greetings with the people at the bank are always pleasant but mostly involve surface conversation.

Today the discussion took a different turn. It came up that I’m about to go on a trip with my church and instantly I realized I was in the company of other believers. Two of the tellers moved closer and there was an instant connection. For a moment the three of us enjoyed a brief and needed connection in a world that’s not our home.

Sadly this is not always the case among Christians. Sometimes we find disagreement with our brothers and sisters in Christ. I once visited the church of a friend and observed an awkward interchange between two people in the hallway. I asked my friend what that was about and he explained that thirty years earlier they had a disagreement and haven’t gotten along since. How sad that these two believers attended the same church and sang in the same choir; they worship the same Jesus and share the same Spirit but can’t seem to get along.

Whether we’re talking about Christians who attend different churches or Christians who attend the same church getting along generally takes work and intentional effort.

As I turned to leave this morning one of the tellers asked me the dates of my trip and leaned in and whispered, “I’ll be praying for you.” I realized again how we really need each other in the body of Christ.