Gear Up!

Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”

In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other.

1 Corinthians 12:20-25

 I have always had a fascination with how things work together to accomplish a goal.  For example, when I was younger, I found a wristwatch and managed to get the back off to reveal all the gears and springs working so purposefully just so I would know the time of day.  I stared at this very tiny device for hours lost in complete fascination of the mind that put all these parts together to perform this function.

Being the curious one, I decided that I would see what would happen if I took a single sprocket out of the works.  And guess what, the watch still worked, but began losing time.  Why? Because I had decided it didn't need that sprocket.  I had deemed that sprocket to be insignificant to the function of the rest of the machinations.

In 2005 I have quadruple bypass surgery, which meant the surgeon had to create four bypasses of my heart's arteries so my heart would continue to function.  In order to do that, the surgeon didn't merely call Amazon.com and order a new set of arteries (laugh if you will).  On the contrary, the surgeon too the long artery out of my left leg, divided it into four pieces and re-purposed the artery from my leg to cause my heart to work.  Now, while I am extremely grateful for the surgeon's ability to reuse my bits and pieces, the result of this was a diminished capacity of operation in my left leg.  Over the course of time, this diminished capacity has become more apparent to me especially when I have been on my feet for long periods of time.

Now.....I said all that to say this, the true church is a single unit made up of different parts.  For those who believe the true church is a building with comfy seats and stained glass where one can go and get a quick nap before the afternoon of sports, you are mistaken.  The TRUE church is PEOPLE!  And as any societal group, everyone has a function and purpose.  Take any society and take away the farmers, it won't take long for the society to notice the pack of produce.  True, we could survive for a while strictly on meat, but without the nutrients from the plants the lives would be diminished.  Think of the church as such a society where every single person has a purpose.  I cannot tell someone they aren't welcome to be part of our group simply because they don't think exactly the way I think.  I can't tell someone they aren't welcome in the church because they sing very loudly and off key.

So why do we do this with each other?  We gravitate toward those with a gregarious personality, because they are "fun" but they might not be wise.  We tend to overlook those who are quiet because they are "boring" but they might be the most caring people.  We must learn to accept each other, differences, warts, wrinkles and all because each of us has a purpose!  After all, doesn't God love you just as much as He loves me?