We Sink or Swim Together
The great Apostle Paul likens the body of Christ (the church/all Christians) to the human body. In 1 Cor 12, he describes how the different parts of the human body work in harmony to ensure the body functions as it is supposed to. He talks about how indispensable every part is big or small, seen or covered. He does not exalt one part over another; each is valuable and each is important. Each part performs a different role yet each role is essential to the overall proper functioning of the body. If you put food in your mouth and the teeth refuse to chew it or the throat refuses to swallow the food then your body will not receive the nourishment it needs and a malnourished body is of no use.
In verse 26, he says “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” Think about it, if one part of your body hurts you are unable to function at your optimum. In fact it can be a part as little as your fingernail or a tooth and you can be rendered incapacitated for a period. To function at one hundred percent, all parts of your body must work well at the same time. So every wise person will always do whatever it takes to ensure that all parts are well, for as Paul said, if one part suffers every part suffers.
In the same way we must care for each other as the body of Christ-from the least to the most visible. I am the hand, you are the foot, he is the head, she is the mouth. It is our duty to make sure that each of us in the assembly, the body is well because whether we like it or not when one suffers, we all suffer. We cannot afford to be selfish Christians, we must learn to put the other person first. If the person who sits by you in church does not show up, you must check on him/her. If you hear a brother or sister is sick, you must pray for him/her, visit, offer to help, cook, clean, chauffeur, take her kids out for a treat, etc.
We must determine to nurse each other to wholeness for it is only when the body is whole that it can work together properly. If we want to be successful a church (your local assembly) then it is imperative that we help eachother be at their best and healthiest. I understand a toothache can a person out for days and render him unproductive; something as small as a tooth huh?
Let us love one another enough to feel each other’s pain and beyond that to help each other to be whole so the body of Christ will be whole. We have a mandate to execute on this earth, souls to win for Christ and we need all hands on deck. Every part of the body counts. What can you do today to restore wholeness to the body?
Blessings.
Love, Lady Monica.