Today's Reading:O.T. - 1 Samuel 9 - 10
N.T. - 1 Corinthians 12
Focus Verses: 1 Cor. 12:14-18
14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If 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. 16And 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. 17If 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? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
Insight:
People in the body of Christ, the Church, have different gifts, serve different purposes, and meet different needs. Our place and purpose is arranged by God to accomplish God's intent for each individual and for the entire community. There is no need for competition, envy, or pride. Each person, each member of the body, should be content to be what she is and to do what he has been made to do. This is how we support the greater community, find our own fulfillment, and glorify God.
Response and Action:
I need to develop and exercise the gifts God has given me. I shouldn't envy others for what they are and do. I shouldn't despise or diminish what I am or what I can do. I am God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good things God has prepared for me to do (Eph. 2:10). Every member of the body is needed and should support and serve the health and life of the whole body. I benefit others and others benefit me.
O God, you have fearfully and wonderfully made me. You know the purposes you have for me and the gifts you have given me. Help me, as I seek you with my whole heart, to discover my gifts and to understand how I can use them to serve your will. Give me good things to do and the heart to do them. Amen.
Proverbs: 24:3-4
"By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures."
Resources:
Christly Gestures: Learning to Be Members of the Body of Christ
by Brett P. Webb-Mitchell
