Disembodied Appendages

I know a few of them.
How long can an arm be healthy when removed from the body? A leg? A head? Not long. Decay is quick and imminent. As graphic and violent as the picture can be, imagine an arm ripping itself from the body that nourishes it. Now imagine this arm, as it bleeds, suffers, and decays, wildly lamenting its present plight. A bit ridiculous, no?

Consider these words by the apostle Paul:
"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.... And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love."
-Eph. 4:1-7, 11-16 NASB

Can you see it? Can you see the multi-faceted jewel of blessing and purpose that is the body of Christ? Every single Christian belongs to this body. If you are saved, you are in the body. Allow me to stretch Paul's metaphor here, and say that each of us functions as a body part in a local body. Every last member has a purpose for existing in that body, as well as receiving blessing and nourishment from that body.
If you dare, as a member, a functional and dependent appendage, to rend yourself from the body, what can you expect but suffering and decay!? Dear Christian, look up! Look at the unity, the functionality, the blessedness, the health, the maturity, the strength, the purpose, of the member that remains secured! You cannot survive without being a dependent and active part of this body. If you are a Christian without a Church home, yes you are saved, but, dear brother or sister, expect to suffer. God loves His children. He nourishes, protects, educates, guides, and sustains those whom He has purchased, but accomplishes these ends through the regular means of the local Church.
Cry till there are no tears left, pray till your knees are raw and sore, read till your head spins, but don't expect miraculous help from God for whatever ales you when you repeatedly reject His answer that stands before you here in Scripture, and before your very face in audible form in the exhortations of friends. You belong in the body. You need to be nourished by the body. You need to serve the body. It is your life this side of eternity, as well as your eternity. Come, let us shower you with true agape love (1 Cor.13), and the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).