“After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body” (Ephesians 5:29, 30).

            It is a privileged position to be Jesus’s body.  But what do we mean by saying we are His body?  Often, I think we identify in the body as a separate thing from Him.  We think of our Head as one entity bestowing grace or feeding on the body, a separate entity.  Consequently, we may think He is only half interested in caring for us just as we tend to be less concerned for bodies that are not ours.  But this is not so.  Being His body means we are part of Him.  Christ is who we are just as my face identifies my whole body and not just my head.  Because of this, the Lord is motivated to care for us and cherish us, not as separate, needy creatures, but as His very self.  If I cut my hand, I do not condescend and show it compassion as a different creature.  I wash it and dress it carefully because it is me.  Therefore, when we pray, we can be fully assured that our Head will respond.  When nerve signals arrive to tell my brain about the cut on my hand, you can be sure I will do something about it because it is MY hand.  This gives us great encouragement because God is motivated of Himself to care for us.  We can be free from concern.  We can simply be in Him, secure that He will do what is necessary for us.  “If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (2 Tim. 2:13).