A meditation on 1 Corinthians 12:12-31
It’s easy to look around and see people jockeying for position in the corporate world, in politics, in just about any area of life. Who’s the best? Who has the most followers? Who has it all? But when it comes to the fellowship of believers around the world, we are called to view our relationship to each other drastically different.
Slowly reading through this passage in 1 Corinthians 12, it’s pretty amazing how every part of the body is valued, honored, and indispensable, even if it seems to be a weaker part. One look around a church on a Sunday morning or at a small group gathered in a home, and one can quickly see that the body of believers is made up of people who are different – different interests, different gifts, talents, abilities, and strengths. In the body of Christ, all those differences are valued and wanted.
“For the body does not consist of one member but of many…as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If we were all a single member, where would the body be?” Where would the body be if we were all the same? Where would the body be if we all approached the lost the same way? If we all talked the same, had the same life experiences? My guess is that we would be much less effective in reaching the world around us.
But God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. Whatever we have in this life has been given to us. It’s so easy to forget that and then to hold tight to what I have. But I feel an invitation in this passage to lift my eyes to my brothers and sisters around me and see what the Lord has put in them, what he has given them. “To suffer with those who are suffering and to rejoice with those who are honored.” This is a grand vision for every single member of the body of Christ to act in this way, but we see that it’s in the Lord’s heart for us to not be divided, but to care for one another, the weak and the strong alike.
We see it in the way he spoke to his disciples who were concerned about who would be the greatest. “Let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves…I am among you as the one who serves.” Luke 22:26-27. We see this modeled by Jesus as he washes his disciples’ feet.
This week, how can I value the body of Christ? Is there someone who was promoted, gained possessions, or is just doing really well right now? How can I rejoice with them? Is there a weaker part of the body that is struggling? How can I suffer with them?
I recently had the opportunity to put this into practice. Some friends of friends were traveling from Missouri to Colorado and were involved in a serious car accident. I didn’t really know any of the people involved, but I went to sit in the hospital with one of the wives of a guy who had to undergo a couple of surgeries. To be honest, it was quite disruptive to my schedule — disruptive to many people’s schedules, not just mine. But it was beautiful to see the body of Christ gather around, give extravagantly to families who were hurting, and to care for one another.
We all need each other! Here in America we’re pretty good at insulating ourselves from others and operating independently. There is good in that, but at the end of the day, we were made to be part of a larger group, a body of many members. Lord, help us see the beauty in this, unify us, and teach us to care for one another with love.
