A normal Major League fastball comes in at around 90 mph. That’s fast. At that speed, it takes less than half a second to reach the batter, and if it’s a breaking ball, half the “break” will come in the last .10 seconds before it gets to the batter. Meanwhile, the batter has to analyze the pitcher’s motion and decide where and how to swing. Obviously at that speed, most of this is going to be instinct – the muscles of the body anticipating the commands the brain is going to give it in order to hit the ball.
Now for you or me, odds are not good that our bodies would have any idea how to properly time and adjust a swing, even if our heads knew what to tell our muscles to do. But a professional baseball player has taken batting practice nearly every day for probably 20 years or so has trained his body and head to be so completely in sync that he’s able to hit a 3-inch wide ball moving 90 mph – a testament to the eye-hand coordination required to be a major league baseball player.
In Ephesians 1:22-23, Paul briefly describes another kind of head-body coordination:
And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Sadly, the answer is most often, no. In fact, more often than not, the Church seems so out of step with its Head that we often seem completely disconnected.
There are a variety of reasons for this, but I’d suggest that one big reason is lack of practice. When we become believers, a cosmic change takes place. As Paul has explained in the opening to this letter to the Ephesians, God has done more than we can fully express or comprehend. We have moved from death to life, from outsiders to adopted children and heirs. And we have been given the Holy Spirit to give us supernatural resources and help us become better parts of Christ’s body, the Church. But even the most talented athlete requires practice – and this is where we fall short, in spite of the amazing things God has done for us and is doing in us and through us. We don’t read God’s revealed will as He’s given it to us in the Bible, and most days, we’re too busy to genuinely stop and listen for His voice. As a result, even though we’re somehow part of His body, the lines of communication are about as clear as a cell phone call in a subway tunnel, and we’re unable to practice conforming our lives to His because we don’t know very well what He’s like.
We live in a world that desperately needs to see Christ. And we are His body! We are the most visible way for others to see Him. Imagine what the effect would be if Christ’s body was more in tune with its Head! If you and I and the rest of His body will put in the practice time in God’s Word, in prayer and in working with the Spirit to conform our lives to His revealed will, the eye-hand coordination of Christ’s church would accomplish truly incredible things.
Will you take some time today to practice?
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