Many Parts of One Body

Blog 1: Being Unique

Opening Questions: What are you spiritual gifts? How is God calling you to use them?

What are the spritual gifts you see in others around you? How can you appreciate them?

Bible Verse: 1 Corinthians 12:12

"There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ."

For today's blog, I wanted to go through each part of 1 Corinthians 12:12-26. Appreciating the gifts of ourselves and others is not a new issue. Even Paul wrote to the church in Corinth 1,000’s of years ago about this very topic.

1 Corinthians 12:12-14 says, “There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit. And so we are formed into one body. It didn’t matter whether we were jews or gentiles, slaves or free people. We were all given the same spirit to drink. So the body is not made up of just one part. It has many parts.”

These verses set all Christians on equal footing. While we may believe different things, hold different values, have different experiences, and are different people, we are all baptized by ONE spirit. We all belong to Christ. That is the binding string that connects us all. To say that one part of the body of Christ does not belong, is to say that none belong. We are all equally part of the glorious body of Christ.

Continuing on, 1 Corinthians 12:15-20 says, “Suppose the foot says, ‘I am not a hand. So I do not belong to the body.’ by saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. And suppose the ear says, ‘I am not an eye. So I do not belong to the body.’ By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how could it smell? God has placed each part of the body just as He wanted it to be. If all the parts were the same, how could there be a body? As it is, there are many parts. But there is only one body.”

If you are anything like me, your self-talk is rough. Oftentimes, we undermine our gifts, abilities, and importance in our community. While we may not feel needed out in the world, while we may be rejected, unappreciated, or unrecognized in the world, we are ALWAYS needed in the body of Christ. Christ made each of us intricately and for a purpose. He made YOU intricately and for a purpose. God makes no mistakes and there is a reason he created you the way He did. Your gifts provide a part that the body of Christ needs to function. No matter how much you don’t believe it, no matter how much you deny that your gifts are needed, your gifts will always be needed.

Lastly, 1 Corinthians 12:21-26 says, “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I do not need you!’ The head cannot say to the feet, ‘I do not need you!’ In fact, it is just the opposite. The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are the parts we cannot do without. The parts that we think are less important we treat with special honor. The private parts aren’t shown. But they are treated with special care. The parts that can be shown do not need special care. And he has given more honor to the parts that do not have any. In that way, the parts of the body will not take sides. All of them will take care of one another. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part shares its joy.”

While we can struggle with insecurity and negative self talk, we can also struggle with arrogance, gossip, and forgetting the importance of community. We overanalyze how needed we are, seeing ourselves as saviors. We forget that God placed our brothers and sisters in the body for a reason, too. The Holy Spirit does not only work through us, the Holy Spirit is working through ALL of us. We are not too far above suffering to sit in it. We are not too far below honor to share in it. YOU are an important member of the body of Christ. I am an important member of the body of Christ. We all are.

Prayer:

God,

You leave me awestuck.

Much like my physical body, you have put gifts in me intentionally and with purpose.

I have a place in the body of Christ, and I am needed.

In the moments that I feel rejected, unimportant, or unappriciated, help me remember that.

You also have gifted my brothers and sisters in Christ with amazing gifts.

Those gifts are needed as much as mine are.

Help me remember that community is important; and that it is always better to work in community than it is to work alone.

Amen.