Our bodies. We need them and we like them to look good! When we take care of them and treat them right, they respond by being healthy and enabling us to fulfill purpose. So much time is spent on what to put on them, in them and who to share them with, but even with all that we can do in these bodies, they are the LEAST of who we are.
Bodies are temporary housing for who we really are, yet God uses 'the body' to describe the church. God made this body- so no one else will understand fully the functions and miracle of it. One thing I appreciate about God using the body as an example of the church, is the realization that we are made of many members. Whether we like it or not, we are supposed to be different and have differing functions. Many times as a church body, we assume that everyone should be doing what we do. I have worked in ministry many years and it still amazes me how impatient we are with those who are different than us. We are made to be different. Our upbringing, customs, ideas, thoughts, our likes or dislikes. We have one common goal as a body of believers -but we reach it through our differences.
A few years ago, I heard someone speaking about what they did and how they loved doing it. Soon into their talk, they started putting the pressure on others to do what they did. The conversation was riddled with ridicule that others could not see what they saw, and were not taking on the task to do what they did. They went so far as to say that people needed to get over being scared and just do it, after all they did. This is why we need to understand Body Ministry.
Everyone should be that gung-ho about their area, they should feel empowered and fulfilled in their area of giftedness. If it is purposeful, they should not burn out easily and should get great joy in doing it! BUT, not everyone is called to do what you do.
To make it practical I will use myself as an example. I love to teach and I love working with children. I have served in prison ministry and enjoyed that as well. I don't have a problem getting in front of a crowd and teaching or talking on a particular topic. That is not true of some people, they are just as talented, just as capable, but they prefer to work in the background- not up front. They would not be comfortable in prisons, may never want to enter one. Others would get anxious if they were left in a room with 20 toddlers or even high school students.
On the other hand, I have been asked to do tasks that I really know I am not good at, I get horribly nervous and really don't want to do. The only reason I do some of those tasks, is to help in a pinch, other times I agree to do it, because I realize God MIGHT be using this to stretch me. As part of the body of Christ, we have to know and understand our place, and respect the place of others.
BE A FOOT!
1 CORINTHIANS 12:14
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.
The bible lets us know that we are all needed and we all have a place in the body of Christ. The worst thing we can do is act like we are insignificant and are not needed and do nothing. When you arm is not functioning well, it causes stress on the rest of the body and others have to take up the slack to do life. Your not doing or knowing your place, makes it hard on the rest. But in the same since, not everyone can do what you do! When we are carrying a load, we want help. But my foot is not made to do what my hands do. I need ....more hands. If the foot becomes a hand, how then can we walk?
BODY PARTS- Get in where you fit in!
Here is a very simple and practical way to look at the body and how we may work in the Kingdom:If you are...
A Mouth: is made to speak- not just talk, but proclaim truth.
The Hands: are made to help by serving tangible needs.
The Feet: are made to "Go." to carry the body, it may be abroad or on the streets.
The Arms: are made to hold, to embrace those who are hurting and comfort them.
Now before someone pulls out their study notes to challenges this... know that this is simply an illustration of how a body works! God has really deep things in His word, but He also has very simple things that help us get the message. We basically know how our body works.
The inner workings are all God's design. He is the brain; He give us direction, Jesus the heart; He is our example of loving and forgiving, and the Holy spirit works like our conscience. He will remind us and give us nudges to move and do God's good pleasure.
What part are you?
At God's bidding, any of us can serve in any area at anytime, and we do. But knowing where your strength is and what you do best allows you to fit in the body and work purposefully and efficiently. Not everyone can sit in hospitals for long times talking to someone who needs it, not everyone can comfortably stand on a stage in front of people. Spending your time training to do what is hard for you will only produce minimal results. Building and doing what you do best and increasing knowledge in that area will produce great results.
Get in where you fit in! So you know you are part of a great body, a strong body, a healthy body. But we need everyone to serve where you belong. Understand that at anytime God may use you to cover for someone who is absent but He will grace you to do that. Don't leave your area lacking, it only hurts the overall goal that God has for His body to reach this world. We need you, this world needs YOU.
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