We belong and we are needed

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Just as there are many parts to our bodies, so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of it, and it takes every one of us to make it complete, for we each have different work to do. So we belong to each other, and each needs all the others. (Romans 12:4-5)

What 'part' do you play in your varied relationships? If you are a mom, you likely fulfill roles such as chief cook & bottle washer, laundress, personal hygiene aide, and even thrift-minded shopper. If you are employed as a mechanic, you not only diagnose every squeak, plink, and plunk an automobile makes, but you are adept at figuring out how to set those things right again. We all have 'parts' to play in our daily work and home lives, but we also have a very unique 'part' to play in the Body of Christ - the church.

Don't be deceived by those four walls you label as a church - the place where you 'go' on Sundays to worship for a couple hours. Complete with pews, chairs, choir loft, podium, and perhaps a coffee station, it is a building at best. The 'church' is us - you and I - believers who are bound together with a 'blood bond'. We have a role to play in the lives of those who share this bond with us. Building each other up, helping each other to see scripture with a fresh perspective, and even guiding one another when we find one is about to 'get off-course'. These are just a few of the 'roles' we play as part of God's family, but if we fail to 'execute our role' as we should, that 'part' in the Body is missing.

We BELONG to each other, and we NEED each other. Don't lose sight of those words in this passage. We BELONG and we are NEEDED. Too many times, we deceive ourselves into believing what we have to offer within the Body of Christ is not really all that 'valuable' or 'important'. You may not be called to preach or teach, but you can make a mean cup of coffee for that coffee bar! You may not find working with children all that exciting, but your ability to hunt out a bargain can keep them well-nourished with snacks you find at great prices. The 'gift' you are to the Body of Christ isn't measured by doctrinal knowledge, but by an open, willing, and committed heart. Just sayin!

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