Christ’s Body World’s – Facing Challenges Like a Body

"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be 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 cease to be 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 arranged 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."

We have all been plunged into the body. There are no fringe members of the body Christ! It makes no sense for you to tell me that I'm not a part of the body because I'm not you. I shouldn't say that I'm not a part of the body because I'm not someone else. God, through the Spirit, has made me who I am, he has arranged us together, and he wants us to respond as the body of Christ! Each one of us has a role, and that role is important to the body as a whole.

Typically, when we approach 1 Corinthians 12, we think about parts of the body who function as prayer leaders, Bible Class teachers, card writers, food preparers, yard mowers, ministry leaders, elders, deacons, preachers, encouragers, writers, singers, administrators, etc. Paul even includes a list, but his list consists of miraculous spiritual gifts. But there are other functions, perhaps more personality driven or abstract that ought to be considered, too.

For instance, God, through the Spirit, has arranged this local body with parts that react to problems or challenges differently. Some charge forward when a challenge arises. Like Peter when the soldiers approached Jesus, they attack the problem with little if any contemplation, and attempt to fix the quandary quickly. Others slowly approach a problem. Like Moses at the burning bush, they are going to cover all the details before they make a move. They are much more contemplative, wanting to consider the options, weigh the benefits of each, and cautiously move toward a solution. These two incredibly different, yet mightily important, functions of parts of the body must be combined for the common good! How can they?

The parts each must fill their own role with the good of the body in mind. They must appreciate the other parts of the body and their functions enough to encourage them to fill their own roles. And they must continuously act in love toward everyone understanding that if a challenge is met quickly or thought out thoroughly , the body has nothing without love.

If we are the body, seeking and saving is our agenda! (Luke 19:10) We've got work to do! If we are the body, nothing should stop us from reaching more, enduring more, serving more, and saving more! That's Life at Work!