Every Part is Important

     Did you know that the cornea is one of the most sensitive tissues in the human body?  It contains over 40,000 nerve endings.  This means if you get a scratch on your eye it will hurt!  I proved that twice in the past month with a crazy accident due to my own carelessness.  It seems when I get in a hurry that trouble is not far away and one morning, I found out in a big way.  I was putting on my eyeliner (something I have done routinely for many years) when the pencil slipped going straight into my eye.  It hurt initially so I put some moisturizing drops in the eye.  Being in a rush for an appointment, I thought that would do the trick.  However, as the day wore on, I found myself in a good deal of discomfort.  That evening, my husband (a retired optometrist) patched me up.  It took several days for it to heal.  Seems like I did a good job of scratching the eye!  Funny how we don't think about a body part until it begins to hurt.  Unfortunately that can also be true in a church setting.
     Think about what the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians concerning the "Body" of Christ (I Corinthians 12:14-26).  We are all members of the "One" body of Jesus Christ.  Everyone plays a different role in the body.  Paul explains that the eye cannot tell the hand that it doesn't have need for it because each part is important.  The human body has a hard time functioning without a hand, a foot, a leg, an arm or an eye.  Yes, we can compensate but it is not quite the same as having full function.  Paul's point here, especially to the Corinthians, is that no gift, calling or ministry is better than any other.  We are all joined in Christ to work together as a whole in order to function.  One thing, though, is often forgotten.  We need to encourage one another and all the more as we see the day of Christ's return approaching.
     In verse 24b-26, Paul writes:  "But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together."  How often do we take the time to send someone a card, make a phone call, or stop to visit them?  There are so many opportunities every day for us to reach out and touch someone with a word of kindness.  Paul said we are to support one another in suffering and rejoice with each other when someone is honored.  This is not to be done to flatter another but to sincerely lift them up.
     There have been many occasions when people have said that they feel insignificant in the church because they don't have much to contribute.  Some people feel too old while others feel they have no talents to lend.  Yet, that is not the vision that Paul is casting here.  We are not meant to all be preachers or teachers.  God has a place for each one of us that keeps the body functioning normally.
Trust me, I know from experience that when my eye hurt the rest of me was miserable too.  It was like having a sore throat.
     Individually, we need to grasp what God has called us to do in the Body of believers.  If we are called to be a prayer warrior for others, then we need to embrace this and seek to develop this ministry.  Maybe we fold church newsletters, sing in the choir or pass out church bulletins.  Every job is important; therefore, we need not wish we could do what someone else is doing.  Each of us has a God assigned place to bring Him glory.
     As a church, we need to also do a better job of encouraging each other both in the good times and the bad times.  Tell someone how you appreciate the job they do.  You never know how much they may need that word of blessing.  We take so much for granted and just expect the Body of Christ to go on functioning until suddenly that person is no longer there.  Speak a word of encouragement today.  Offer help if someone is struggling or give a call to a person who is lonely.  Hebrews 3:13 tells us:  "But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."
     For certain, I will never take my eye for granted again.  The discomfort alone was a good reminder of how important it is to take your time when working around the eye area.  Likewise, we should not take the Body of Christ and our religious freedom for granted either.  We need one another and the unity that only comes by working together as the Lord has fitly joined us in His Body.  Seek out ways to encourage others, mourn with them, laugh with them and we will find our church bringing glory to Christ and blessing to each one of us.  Selah!