Starting my collegiate studies in architecture, I spent several classes focused on art history to stretch my understanding, creativity, and artistic appreciation. One of the movements that often fascinated me was that of pointillism. It is a style of painting where the artist is concerned with taking colored spots to develop the tone of the image.
I was reminded of pointillism while reading C.S. Lewis article on Membership. He writes, “In our own age the idea that religion belongs to our private life-that it is, in fact, an occupation for the individual’s hour of leisure-is at once paradoxical, dangerous, and natural.” Lewis goes on to write, “By members he (St. Paul) meant what we should call organs, things essentially different from, and complementary to another, things differing not only in structure and function but also in dignity.” This means that in order for us to fulfill the call upon as as members of the body of Christ, we must recognize that isolationism, and privatism of our faith is dangerous and unbiblical. The importance of each member is to function in a certain manner within the body so that the organs complement one another.
One dot on the canvas in Seurat’s, Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, would never make a complete painting. Nor would the dots related incorrectly make any sense for they wouldn’t depict appropriate shading or highlights, colors, and depths of the people or objects on the lawn or just off shore. Each dot must relate to the other in a complementary manner allowing the painter to bring the canvas to life.
In the church there is a similar relationship. We must each recognize our importance and serve in the church. When we fulfill this appropriate position we bring recognition to the understanding, wisdom, and creativity of the artist, in the case of the church, Jesus, her head.
If we were to take this metaphor a bit further, this even communicates the importance of membership in the local church. Let’s say for a moment that the stroke, hues, and tones, which represent your life, are intended to play a role in a local body (the sail of the of the boat in the water), your importance in relationship to that portion of the image is vital. If you were isolated and set apart, or you held that you already have membership in the catholic church but remained disconnected from the proper portion, you have lost your significance, and your isolation, independence, and disconnectedness leave you wanting for appropriate impact and significance.
There are two images that Paul uses in Ephesians, the temple and the body, one in Ephesians 2:19-22 and the other in Ephesians 4:15-16. I trust that as you read these two passages you will carefully consider your importance in the life of the church and make a commitment to fulfill the designs that God has for you in His body life in the local church which is then expressed in the universal church.