Read: 1 Corinthians 12:14-27
Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. (1 Cor. 12:12)
The numbness and tingling in my feet made walking difficult. In the past, I loved hiking. Now, I held tightly to the handrail on the stairs so as not to lose my balance. The problem was a pinched nerve in my spine. Surgery stabilized the nerves and gave me more mobility, but that one small nerve made such a huge difference in my whole body. We are truly “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:14).
In the body of Christ, there are all kinds of people and each one has a role to play. We’re each uniquely created, and we can’t all play the same part. Each one is needed for the body to function as a whole, working together as designed by our Creator. When one part is hurt, it affects the whole body in ways we can barely begin to understand. One person cannot say to another, we don’t need you. We are one with all these parts, all these people, one body in Christ. Therefore, we must care for each and every one, including ourselves.
I’ll never take the nerves in my back for granted again, but I know it can be easy to overlook each other in the body of Christ. How might the church look and function differently if we, as various parts of it, honored and cared for one another for the sake of the whole?
As you pray, ask God to show you neglected parts of his body that need attention and care.
About the Author
Bonnie Nicholas, LMSW, retired in 2020 after serving as Director of Safe Church Ministry in the Christian Reformed Church in North America.
