saltandlight

For a few weeks now I’ve been dealing with a minor health issue. My pointer finger on my right hand has somehow gotten infected and the infection has gotten worse to the point that it is now in the bone, osteomyelitis. I am going today to have an MRI and I am being referred to a hand specialist where they will have to possibly treat with iv antibiotics or possibly surgery. This one little finger has proven to be very important to me these past few weeks, as it has reminded me every time I am getting ready, or doing just about anything, and I bump against something. I am learning to type without, as challenging as that is!

I am not telling you all of this for sympathy. I have tried not to share much about this as a matter of fact, because to me it seems like such a small and insignificant problem compared to what so many others are going through. But as I’ve been praying about this, I started out praying for it to just go away….. But since it hasn’t gone away, I started praying yesterday and asking God to show me what I am supposed to be learning from this.

I started thinking about how important I have found my finger to be these past few weeks! And then I thought about the place in the Bible where it talks about the members of our body compared to the members of the church. Paul was writing to the church in Corinth and in chapter twelve he talks about the different members and their spiritual gifts. He compared the body having many members to the body of Christ. “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.” 1 Corinthians 12:12.

The chapter goes on to talk about the different members and how the body is made of many parts that all work together and this is how it should be with the church, the body of Christ. We are all important and we all have a job to do in the kingdom. We may feel that we are insignificant and that surely we don’t have anything to offer, but I assure you that God has a job for you.

In studying the chapter further I noticed this:

“Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.” 1 Corinthians 12:22-26.

Did you catch that? The weaker members are bestowed more honor. We need all of our parts! In the body of Christ, we need all of our members.

This reminded me of one of our church clean up days. One of our youngest church members, I’m pretty sure at the time she was about 6 years old, was helping us clean. She helped me clean in the nursery and let me tell you, I was impressed by how well she did! She was a good little cleaner! She was also quite entertaining while we were cleaning too! We have other children in our church that, when given the opportunity to help out with cleaning or working, they pitch in and do a good job. This shows me that even our smallest and weakest members, are needed.

And think about our elderly members. They are often overlooked in our churches as they are no longer able to do as much actively. But let me tell you what they are doing. They are doing the most important work. They are praying. God has slowed them down and now they are at the point in life that they may not be able to run here and there and do all the things, but they are studying their Bibles and praying more than ever. (Didn’t Jesus say something about that good part?) Don’t forsake those older members and the work they are doing on their knees!

And I have learned that my finger is a small member of my body, but it is a much needed member of my body! So these verses have proven to be true in both instances. Not that I needed physical evidence to prove the Bible true but God does that for us sometimes.

I have a feeling that He is going to use this situation to teach me even more as I go through it. I though this was just a good reminder for all of us today!

Blessings,

~ Cheryl