All the Right Parts – January 29, 2019

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If 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. And 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. If 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? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 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!” If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
1 Corinthians 12:12-21,26,27

All the Right Parts


Daily Devotion – January 29, 2019

Devotion based on 1 Corinthians 12:12-21,26,27

See series: Devotions

Many parts…one body. What a great mystery and marvel the Christian church is!

I am one of the least musically inclined pastors you can find in our church body, but I have yet to serve in a congregation that did not more than make up for my shortcomings: a keyboard player with her baby in a playpen behind her; a quartet in a small congregation that rivaled any vocal musicians anywhere; an organist who soaked her arthritic hands in hot wax to loosen them up for the morning service; a man who could play and lead others to play just about any instrument; a computer program called HymnSoft and a solid, sound system to play it.

Many parts…one body. What a great mystery and marvel the Christian church is!

I enjoy yard work and tried to make it my practice to always attend work days at church and pitch in with the mowing, trimming, weeding, etc. that needed to be done. Nevertheless, I couldn’t always be there, and church maintenance was not my strongest gift, but I have yet to serve in a congregation that did not have those men and women who said; “Pastor, would it be OK if I planted flowers around the church?” or those who were always, without being asked, changing light bulbs, trimming hedges, and picking up trash.

Many parts…one body. What a great mystery and marvel the Christian church is! We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body. This mystery and this marvel is the work of the Holy Spirit, so today, this “mouth” says, “I need you, hands and feet. Thank you for your service. You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

Prayer:
Holy Spirit of God, thank you for so richly supplying the needs of our individual congregations and, on a much grander scale, equipping the entire Christian church for service to Jesus our head. Bless the hands and feet, the eyes and ears, as they serve Jesus, our Head, now and forever. Amen.

DailyCreative Commons License Devotions are brought to you by WELS and www.WhatAboutJesus.com.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Powered by WPeMatico