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Teamwork, baby.
In 2008, the company I work for did almost $4 billion in sales and had a 12% sales increase in what has obviously been a declining economy. When you step back and look from the outside, you can see that this has only been achieved by people with different roles and different skill sets working together toward a common goal.
This same principle can and should be applied to ministry for the Kingdom of God. Some of us are great teachers. Some are intercessors. Some are enablers – those behind the scenes that help others do their jobs. The list goes on. The point is that you really can’t have any one without all the others. It’s like an incomplete jigsaw puzzle – if there is one piece not in place, it can never be complete. Not ever. Period. You can tell yourself that it’s good enough, but it’s not what God intended. That’s why it’s always referred to as a “body” and not just parts.
Paul tells us that we cannot and should not do it on our own. He mentions a few verses earlier that “if the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?” It doesn’t make sense to try to pick up a cup with your knees, or to try to listen to a symphony by simply looking at it.
So what is your piece of the puzzle? Have you ever thought “I really don’t fit anywhere”? I think we all have. Pray about it. God has a role for each of us. It may not be to preach in front of a 1000-member church, but if you let Him, God will lead you where you are to go. You are a necessary part of His body.
Kyle, thanks for the words of encouragement. Sometimes I feel like I am part of the body, but I’m the part that is in physical therapy, trying to get back to a state of usefulness again. This is a wrong feeling though. God can use us wherever we are.
There is something else in this verse, I think. As if Paul is speaking to those of us that think certain roles in the body are more important than others. I pray that if this is a problem in our church body, that God will help us weed it out.
Thank you Kyle for reminding us that we all make up the body. That we shouldn’t judge others or the gift God has given them because we are all parts of the body. There are many gifts that others have that we don’t see them doing but that we reap. Just as the body could not function without the inner organs. There are some that pray. They constantly pray for all of us. There are some that help others financially but no one ever knows because they do it the way God said to do it by not letting the hand see what the other hand is doing. There are some that do little things for people everyday. I thank God for these people because without them we wouldn’t be whole.
Kyle it is a pleasure to have you and Lizzy as a part of Cumberland. You have and are a blessing to my family and me. Your verse fits well with the sermon yesterday too. We are all different parts,have different jobs ,different personalities and have different opnions. If one part of the body gets rejected, amputated or is sick and not working well, the whole body is hurting. We need to be patient with each other and forgiving each other. I need to work at noticing others and their needs. Alan is like the doctor in the house and I need to remember that this week. Thanks
Kyle it is a pleasure to have you and Lizzy as a part of Cumberland. You have and are a blessing to my family and me. Your verse fits well with the sermon yesterday too. We are all different parts,have different jobs ,different personalities and have different opnions. If one part of the body gets rejected, amputated or is sick and not working well, the whole body is hurting. We need to be patient with each other and forgiving each other. I need to work at noticing others and their needs. Alan is like the doctor in the house and shines the light of God’s word into our lives to diagnose then heal our injuries. If I don’t read and remember what the doctor says and follow the Bible’s words I will be sick and our church will be sick. I need to remember that this week. Thanks
Hey Kyle,
I love the pieces of the puzzle example! For a puzzle person like your wife, it really gave me a visual picture of how we all work together. Thanks for helping me to remember that the individualistic nature so praised in the US, isn’t necessarily how God’s family works.
Love you,
your wife
Kyle, thanks for the thoughts on on today’s verse. God not only crafted each one of us in the body of Christ as unique pieces that fit together like a puzzle, but He also designed each puzzle within the “Body of Christ” to fit together. Very Cool!
Thanks for what you do as your piece of His puzzle.
Amen! Not everyone likes chocolate but I do. We are all different that is why we don’t run out of chocolate. Thank heavens! But it is true, we all have different gifts. Thanks for reminding me to encourage others in their gifts. It makes for a good team for God!
Most of all thanks for loving my daughter, Lizzy! We love you and love that you love God. What an awesome man you are.
Janet
I think the key of this verse is to not only know what your part is, but also to acknowledge that there are parts that are completely different from you that you probably will not understand. Just like Alan’s sermon Sunday, most people have a view of what they do in the church, and can’t always appreciate others.
For instance, I am not built to be strong at sympathy/empathy, but I am glad that there are others in the church that have these skills. We can’t judge that certain skills are simply not valuable, because God works in mysterious ways.
Kyle,thanks for sharing your insights on this passage. I love this particular chapter of 1 Corinthians. I went back a few verses and was reminded that the Spirit gives the different gifts so that others can be blessed. We cannot and should not keep our gifting to ourselves because we don’t think it is valuable. God knows it is of value to someone within the body of Christ and to those who are lost.