1 Corinthians 12:14-21
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!"
Paul said here that even though we are one body in Christ, we are still different, as a body has many different parts. Such variety is a good thing, but also carries potential for crisis. First, there's the crisis of sense of belonging. When we see that others are different, the first reaction is to feel that we don't belong. People like to find the sense of belonging wherever they go by looking for similarities with others. If we are similar to them, then we feel that we belong; if we are not, then we find an excuse to leave. It's the same way in the church - We wish that everyone's same as we are. Never forget, however, that while we are different, we all belong to the same body of Christ.
In the early church, it was a miracle that prophets and teachers could serve together. Prophets and teachers have drastically different temperaments, but because they belonged to the same body, they could collaborate and function. Paul said that we cannot avoid each other just because we are different, because once we are all in heaven we will have to meet each other. May God give us an open heart to face any difference between us and others.
Second, there's the crisis of sense of superiority. In the church, we often value one type of spiritual gift over others. Traditional churches usually value preaching and teaching, but not encouragement and charity, and they seldom mention the gift of prophecy or healing. Actually, every God-given gift has its purpose, and they work together to help the body to grow healthily. May God help us to recognize that all gifts are important, just like what Paul said in verse 19, "If they were all one part, where would the body be?" Eyes are important as the window to our soul, but if our body is filled with eyes, then we're a monster. May God help us to see that all gifts are important, and when working together we can manifest the glorious beauty of Jesus Christ.
