“For as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body. though many, are one body-so also is Christ.”
I have been considering this idea of the the church being made up of so many different parts, just like our human bodies. As I have travelled New England it's been a beautiful experience to meet so many different people with different backgrounds, living different lives, playing their part within the body of Christ.
“If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,’ in spite of this it still belongs to the body…But now God has placed the parts, each one of them, in the body just as He wanted them.”
How much of my life have I wasted trying so hard to be a different part of the body than God designed me to be? I would see other members and think that their roles were so much more important or I would desire the confidence they seemed to have over who they were created to be. Meanwhile, as I was admiring everyone else’s part, I was refusing to embrace my own.
“God, why couldn’t I be the sweet quiet girl that everyone adored?”
“Why God, can’t I be as organized as that person?”
“My daughter, I have chosen your part in the body, just as I wanted.”
So then, I began a journey I am still on today. Discovering each day, the person God has created me to be, and playing the part He chose just for me. Somedays the journey feels more like an uphill battle. In a world of Pinterest perfect examples of what “I should be able to do”, and Instagram posts filled with examples of how I should look doing it all, it can seem impossible to remain content with just being me.
But, I choose to fight! I choose to return again and again to the only one who can define my purpose and value, my Creator God. And you know what’s been my favorite part of it all?
“So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it!”
When I am playing my part, embracing the woman God created me to be, I become FREE to celebrate the parts my other brothers and sisters get to play! I don’t have to waste time desiring their part or wishing it was mine, but I can truly and honestly rejoice in the work God is doing through them!
So friends, who has God created you to be? What part has He given you to play? The body needs you!