All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12:27 NLT
Ben is a truly great guy, a wonderful friend to me and so many others. One of his special qualities is that he can fix just about anything. To add to that, it generally costs much less than one would expect because he has a huge stash of spare parts. He will store parts from appliances, cars, and various items that others have discarded, and he can often find just what you need in one of his bins. Some of those unused parts have been in his storage areas for years.
God can fix anything, anyone, and He chooses to do it most often through the spiritual gifts in His body. But He has no “storage bin” for spare parts, for there are no spare parts in the Kingdom of God. The minute a person receives Christ as Savior, that person receives at least one spiritual gift. He or she may discover all the Holy Spirit has given over time, but the gifts are immediately given.
Just as your body has no unnecessary or spare parts, the body of Christ has no spare or unnecessary Christians. You are not part of His church by accident. You have been intentionally created and gifted to fulfill a specific, much needed work in the body. When you do not participate, when you do not recognize and share your gift, the church is less healthy and unable to function at its highest potential.
You may find that hard to believe because it seems to you that your gift is too small and insignificant. But just as in our physical bodies, the smallest parts are critical to the proper functioning of the body. Every act of serving is seen by the Father and is critical to the overall health of His Church.
Life in the body of Christ is about interdependence, not independence. My gift is not for me alone. The church is not a place for independent consumers but is truly a body where we are created and called to rely on each other. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:21, “The eye can never say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you.’” No part of the body can feel unneeded. That means you need others’ gifts and they need yours. We each add a necessary element of God’s grace to the community that no one else can provide quite like we do.
- Holy Spirit, thank You for trusting me with a special and specific gift in Your body. Help me to gratefully see where my unique gifting meets a true need in my church community. Show me how to use what I have, no matter how small it seems, to honor You and benefit others.