“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” – 1 Corinthians 12:27
In His perfect wisdom, God has uniquely shaped and gifted individual Christians to need each other and work together to accomplish God’s will. Individually, we are inadequate to reach a lost and dying world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We MUST work together. Paul explains this vividly using the analogy of a human body. Human body parts are remarkable in their abilities because they’re highly specialized. No single part can do everything the body needs to do to live and thrive. An eye without a body can’t live. A body without an eye can’t see. So it is for followers of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit gifts us to complement one another. He shapes us to be together in local assemblies called churches. There we are to use our special gifts and talents for the good of all and the advancement of God’s Kingdom. Separated we have little impact on the world. Together, we turn the world upside down. Separated, we can’t fully live and experience all the blessings of the new life we’ve been given in Jesus Christ. Together, we’re able to grow through the joys and frustrations of obeying the many “one-another” commands of the New Testament.
Can the other parts of the body frustrate us, offend us, drive us crazy, or even hurt us? Yes. That doesn’t change how we were made. That doesn’t change the blessing and growth that are only available when we connect deeply with fellow believers to love one another, learn to forgive one another, bear one another’s burdens, sharpen one another, correct one another, forgive one another, etc. No matter how extraordinary your gifts and talents are, you weren’t made to go it alone for Jesus. You have been made to live in close connection to your brothers and sisters in Christ. #FollowJesus