The human body is a mind-blowing feat of divine engineering; its design and complexity are all you really need to make the case for a Creator. Just think about the human heart for a moment.
The heart continuously pumps oxygen and nutrient-rich blood throughout the body to sustain life. This fist-sized powerhouse expands and contracts 100,000 times per day, pumping five or six quarts of blood each minute, or about 2,000 gallons per day. As the heart beats, it pumps blood through a system of blood vessels, called the circulatory system. This system of blood vessels -- arteries, veins, and capillaries -- is over 60,000 miles long. That's long enough to go around the world more than twice! And how we need that blood to circulate: in addition to carrying fresh oxygen from the lungs and nutrients to the body's tissues, it also takes the body's waste products, including carbon dioxide, away from the tissues. This is necessary to sustain life and promote the health of all parts of the body. Your heart is the pump that makes it all possible.
There are a number of ways that the Bible describes the church. One of the most memorable is the one that Saint Paul uses in his first letter to the Corinthian Christians. He writes, “We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body…now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
You’ve probably heard those words before: one body in Christ; the church is the body of Christ in the world—you’ve heard that, I’m guessing, but do you believe it? Do you understand yourself as being part of something bigger than you? Since you are part of this body—or else you wouldn’t be here right now—do you know what your function is within this body?
Thinking of ourselves as parts of a singular body, in which we belong to and rely on each other is a challenge. It goes against the grain of how we normally like to operate, which is to say, as free agents. We like to honor the rugged individual. We cheer for the person who says, ‘right or wrong, I did it my way.’ The Word of God takes us in a much different direction. The Bible honors our individuality—we are uniquely created and adopted one by one in the waters of baptism— yet we are never just an individual. Paul says, “You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” Because we are baptized and because we believe in Christ, we are part of something beyond ourselves. It isn’t a matter of wanting to be part of it or trying to be part of it; it just is.
This means that you are playing a part in presenting Jesus Christ to our world. There are privileges that go with that. There are benefits that go with that. And there are responsibilities that go with that, which is where Paul is going when he writes, “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!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor…But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”
Do you see where Paul is going with that? A finger is no good without a hand. A hand is no good without an arm. An arm by itself won’t get anywhere without a shoulder, and so on. The parts of the body need each other. The parts of the body of Christ need each other. When one part hurts, the whole body hurts with it. When a part is in good shape, it helps the other parts along. In fact, the stronger parts have a special responsibility to care for the weaker parts. At the same time, parts that may seem to weaker actually have functions you can’t do without.
Some of you may remember that in March of 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley, Jr., and was hospitalized for several weeks. Although Reagan was the nation's chief executive, his hospitalization did not cause the nation’s business to grind to a halt. The work of government continued on. On the other hand, suppose all the garbage collectors in our community just decided to stop collecting garbage. What would happen? Not only would things become a mess, but the pile of decaying trash would quickly become a health hazard. What’s the point? The point is, Presidents are important, but so are trash collectors, even though we look at them as vastly different jobs. That’s also true in the Church.
In the body of Christ, there is no such thing as an insignificant part. As Paul reminds us, "The head cannot say to the feet, 'I don't need you!' On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable" (I Cor. 12:21-22).
God’s Word challenges you today to embrace being a member of the body of Christ. Now why would somebody do that?
Because not only can you gain support and help from being part of that body, but you gain a purpose. You gain a mission and you need this. You need to feel that your life has value. Being a member of Christ’s body provides that in a way nothing else can. Being a member of Christ’s body attaches you to the actions and activity of Jesus Christ. What does that mean? It means: Jesus came to save people from hell and redeem His creation. As a member of the body of Christ, you’re an agent of that salvation; you’re a conduit of forgiveness and love that comes from Christ Himself. You are! Paul says it. You are the body of Christ. Do you embrace it? Do you live it?
Paul tells us how to live it. He goes on to describe what being the body means in practical terms. He writes: “And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.” And then Paul asks: does every Christian serve in the same way? Of course, the answer is “no.”
Can you tell others what God has said in the Bible? Use that gift. Can you gladly put the needs of others before your own? Use that gift. Can you explain the truth of God in a way that helps others understand? Use that gift. Can you encourage and motivate others in their walk with God? Use that gift. Do you happily participate in funding the mission of the Church? Use that gift. Can you influence others to follow Jesus faithfully? Use that gift. Do you have the gift of performing works of mercy? Use it. You get it, don’t you? The body of Christ is not a body full of hands, or one big mouth. When your hands serve, when your words encourage, when your shoulder bears a burden, Jesus is serving and encouraging and bearing burdens through you.
Remember putting your face above a headless frame painted to represent a muscle man, a clown, or even a bathing beauty? Many of us have had our pictures taken this way, and the photos are humorous because the head doesn't fit the body. If we could picture Jesus as the head of this body of believers, would our community laugh at the misfit? Or would they stand in awe of a human body so closely related to its head?
The body of Christ does not sit around doing nothing; nor does it exist primarily to serve itself. The body of Christ is active; it is busy looking for people to help and love and save. You are a part of this. You have a gift to give and a unique role to play. Our world needs it. We need it. He will do it.
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