be your part

Each one of us has something AMAZING to give to the people around us!  God purposely created each one of us to live in this time and place.  He has strategically placed us right where we are to change our corners of the world.  He has given us each unique and precious talents and skills.  Every one of us is needed, and we are all necessary parts of the body of Christ.  I return to the verses in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 often to remind me.

Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body.  We are many parts of one body and we all belong to each other.  In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.  So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.  If your gift is serving others, serve them well.  If you are a teacher, teach well.  If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging.  If it is giving, give generously.  If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously.  And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.  Romans 12:4-8

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body.  So it is with the body of Christ.  Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part.  If the foot says, "I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand," that does not make it any less a part of the body.  And if the ear says, "I am not a part of the body because I am not an eye," would that make it any less a part of the body?  If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear?  Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?  But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it.  How strange a body would be if it had only one part!  Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.  The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you."  The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you."  1 Corinthians 12:12, 14-21

 I teach human anatomy and physiology to high school students.  One of my primary goals is to help them appreciate and be grateful for every cell, every tissue type, and every organ that makes up each of our body systems.  I am amazed by the intricate interactions among our body parts and systems, and I express that to my students daily.  I often point out the parts that are hidden or the parts that function behind the scenes.  There are many of them and without them, life would be impossible!

I am surrounded by amazing and talented people, and I often find myself feeling insignificant in comparison.  I read somewhere that "comparison is the thief of joy" and I can attest to that.  I need those amazing and talented people, and they need me (even if they don't realize it!).  We need to stop trying to be parts that we weren't created to be.  That would make a crazy, messed up human body, and it makes a crazy, messed up world too!  The key is to find out who we are, and then be our part.  Simple!