ALL PARTS ONE BODY

How many parents have heard the phrase, "It's not fair!"? How about the amount of times you've heard it?

One afternoon after hearing one of my children exclaim this again in the back seat of the car in argument, I had had enough. I exclaimed back, "You're right, it's not fair! Do you think it was fair for Jesus to die on the cross?! Do you think it was fair for Him to be beaten and spit upon and made fun of like he was for us?! Do you think He deserved that?!

My patience had wore thin, and my retort was less than calm. After that comment, the roaring waves of emotions began to trickle into just a troubled stream. But, before anyone's focus shifted completely from themselves and their feelings I was prompted with scripture. This time, more calmly and lovingly I said to them,

"Do you think our eyes think it's unfair that the nose can smell such wonderful things like flowers and fresh baked cookies and they can not?"- wait, cookies?! That perked their ears. "Do you think our ears think it's unfair that our eyes can see such wonderful things like rainbows and sunrises and it can not?"- now, I had their attention. "What about our feet? What if they think it's unfair that they can only move about but not see. But, each one is part of our body, right? We need all of them together to make up our body or it wouldn't work. We can't see where to go without eyes, we can't hear directions without our ears, and we can't go anywhere without feet. Each of us are different and that means that we have different abilities and experience different things."

Worldly thinking tells us that everything should be fair- for US, and sometimes we desperately want to cling to that idea, even so

" The body does not consist of one limb or organ but of many...If the whole body were an eye, where [would be the sense of] hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where [would be the sense of smell]? But as it is, God has placed and arranged the limbs and organs in the body, each [particular one] of them, just as He wished and saw fit and with the best adaptation." (1 Corinthians 12:14, 17-18, AMP)

We cannot be effective (or in proper operation) if we are an eye striving to hear, or a nose trying to will our way into moving. Similarly, no one part can have no need of the other.

" If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, " I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable" (1 Corinthians 12: 19-22a).

Therefore, each of us are called to be a unique part of the body, with individual attributes, strengths and abilities. We are each designed and created to have vital components to impact God's Kingdom.

"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ." (1 Corinthians 12:12)

*All quotes are taken from NIV unless otherwise noted.

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