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CAN THE BODY OF CHRIST GET CANCER?

Pastor Clifford Hurst

6 min read
The body is the great analogy that Paul gave to describe a healthy functioning church. He did so to show that each has an important role. Since we most readily think of cancer as figure of sin, that is probably what came to mind when I asked, "Can the Body of Christ Get Cancer." However, there is something else I mean by cancer. Paul's analogy breaks the body down into anatomical parts where the members are eyes, ears, mouth, hand, etc. Perhaps, he would forgive me if I broke the analogy down even further to the cells that make up those eyes, ears, mouth, hand, etc. It is the cells I want to consider. Can there be cancer cells in the body of Christ? Sadly, I must answer, "yes." If you could forgive a crude layman's understanding of a cancer cell, think about the following contrast of a cancer cell in the body and a normal cell: A normal cell exists and functions for the benefit of the whole body. Whether a heart, skin, stomach, nail, or hair cell, it is there for the body. On the other hand, a cancer cell exists only for itself. It is in the body, but everything about the cancer cell is about itself. The normal cell takes in sustenance that it might grow and benefit the body. A cancer cell takes in sustenance to benefit only its own malignant growth. A normal cell is sensitive to the needs of the cells around it and receives signals of those needs. A cancer cell is oblivious to any needs but its own. It does not hear the signals of the needs of other cells. Normal cells always develop into a specific type of cell that plays a specific role in the body. A cancer cell never develops into anything that plays a specific role. A normal cell always adheres to the cells around it. A cancer cell has no ability to adhere. I know you have already understood. Some people are cancer cells in the Body of Christ. Everything is about them. It has to be their song, or they are not singing. It has to be their party, or they are not showing up. It must be their preacher, or they are not amen-ing. Their feelings, their preference, their desires are all they consider. They must be blessed. They must be babied. They must be catered to. It is never about the other cells or the body as a whole. A cancer cell is a normal cell gone bad. Simply put, a cancer cell is one whose growth and behavior will not be controlled. A cancer cell in the body is a person that has never submitted his own self, feelings, desires, needs, to a greater purpose. Every person that makes church only about himself is a cancer cell. Every one that makes church about the good of the body will be a growing, healthy, contributing normal cell.
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