“If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be?” I Corinthians 12:15-19 NKJV
I had the privilege of working alongside other members of the Un-Associated team and volunteers last weekend to put together an incredible event, Poetry Jam 11. The Un-Associated team is virtual, so the bi-annual Poetry Jam is usually where we meet. When we are in the same place, it is a gift. The team operates very well, especially considering that we all live apart, but there is nothing like face-to-face communion. Everyone had a unique part to play in bringing the event together, even though our roles on the team on a daily basis do not necessarily suggest that we would bring an event to life. But once duties were given, it went without saying that everyone would have a hand in glorifying the Lord’s name through the event.
I have considered this scripture since then. Event planning requires attention to the littlest detail and includes several moving parts. If one person decided not to perform their role, it would leave a void that the rest of the team would have to fill in order to fulfill the vision for the event. When it all comes together, these little details don’t have much significance, but a lack thereof would suggest poor planning, and execution. The church is the same. The Bible says that each part of the church is important, and that without each, “where would the body be?” This scripture (1 Corinthians 12:12-21) explains that every part of the church is Christ’s body: we are to work together to achieve the purposes of the Lord.
It explains further that there is not one part of the body (of Christ) that is more important than the other (vs. 23-26). Ministry is typically relegated to the pulpit, or to individuals who display wondrous signs and miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit. But ministry is about serving the Lord, which is, in turn, about serving wherever it is that the Lord has called you to and doing it excellently. The church would not function well without ushers, nor would it function properly without the intercessory department, nor the Sunday School teachers.
Certain roles may not be glamorous, but there is an opportunity for impact within – even in the routine activity of it. The Lord is whom we serve, but servant-ship begins with loving our brothers and sisters in Christ the same way the Lord would and Jesus did: physically clothing our shame (Genesis 3:21), feeding a servant in the wilderness (Genesis 21:17-19), washing our feet (John 13:1-17), cooking breakfast (John 21:9-13), giving up His only son (John 3:16), suffering on the cross and giving His life (Mark 10:45), and sending His Holy Spirit (John 14:16-18)…amongst others.
My prayer today is that you are reminded to serve in the church and for His purpose in all things and to do what you do with complete excellence (Colossians 3:24-24), and to regard the service of others in the highest esteem. That we all will:
“…grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:15-16).
