Mid-Week Message - Many Parts, One Body

In a conversation with a sweet, Christian friend this last week, the topic turned to the body of Christ and our parts within it.  She was saying that she always had thought that she and her husband were supposed to be evangelizing, however, they seem to be continually called to do the work of building others up more than preaching the Word.  We then talked about how we all need support and encouragement in our spiritual lives if we are to be effective in the work we are asked to do for the Kingdom.  Sometimes the greatest role we can play is that of encourager which enables others to continue on in whatever mission they are called to.

All of this caused me to remember something that I had written for a women's Bible study years ago. We too had been looking at the church and the responsibilities within it.  1 Corinthians 12:12-20 teaches, "Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body."   

Our assignment in the study was to figure out which body part our lives and gifts best equated to.  For example, a missionary could say they are the "legs" because they go.  Those who show mercy to others could be the "hands."  You get the idea.  Maybe out of a sense of low self-esteem, or a feeling that my gifts didn't really fit with any of the larger body parts, I chose the uvula.  You know what that is.  It's the "hangy down thing" in the back of your throat. Once I had chosen that I decided that I would do a little research on its role in the body.  Some of what I found out was that it helps to guide the food and water down the throat as we swallow and it also is important for our gag reflex.  So what spiritual lesson can we learn from this?

Just as in our physical body, we have to take in spiritual nourishment.  If we fail to do so we grow spiritually weak and will be ineffective in our walk with the Lord.  There are those teachers in the church who do much more than impart lessons.  Those gifted people teach us how to take the Word and apply it.  How to direct it into action.  Also, we have to learn how to discern godly teaching from false teaching.  In this case, we need to learn to "gag" on that which is against what scripture teaches. Looks like a spiritual uvula, just like a physical one, plays a vital role in the life of the Body.  

How about you?  Are you aware of your spiritual gifts?  How would you classify them if you were to compare them to physical body parts?  How are you allowing them to be used within the church?  Do you understand how important your gifts are to the well-being of those around you?  I encourage you to think on this as you go through your week.  Pray about it and see what God shows you.  I think you'll be amazed at what you find out.  God bless!