UNIQUENESS 3 - The Body of Christ

Uniqueness 3 - English files 

Einmaligkeit 3 - German files

Devotional Thoughts about 1 Corinthians 12:4-27

The Bible is full of word pictures. In a metaphor, something familiar stands for something that’s just as real but which we can’t see or fully grasp. The Body of Christ is a good example of this. Because our bodies are very familiar to us, thinking about their features can help us understand the diversity and unity of the group of people who follow and belong to Christ.

A living body needs a brain to direct every interaction of all its parts, from the smallest impulse of a nerve to the intricate interplay of nerves and muscles enabling the balance and movement a roofer needs to stay on the roof and do his job. Likewise, we all need the direction of Christ, our Head, to use the gifts He has given us. Our connection to other Christians exists only through our connection to Him.

When we recognize how ridiculous and counterproductive pride and envy would be in the context of the parts of a physical body (12:21), we can begin to understand how wrong they are in the amazing symbiosis that binds Christians with one another. 

Once at a grocery store I was amazed to see how routinely an employee with only one hand bagged and carried groceries. The stump of his arm and other parts of his body somehow compensated for the part that had been maimed. God wants us to care for and compensate for others who are somehow weaker or suffering (12:25).

Lord, help me to value other Christians and to use the gifts you’ve given me for Your glory.

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