What Can I Do?

¹⁵ Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹ If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

1 Corinthians 12:15-20 (NIV)

Have you ever looked at someone and thought "I wish I could do what they can do!"  I think all of us have at some point, and to be honest, it's a pretty normal reaction.  We see the people that we think can do amazing and wonderful things and we wish that we could do the same things they do.  I wish I could sing.  I would love to be able to sing well and have people like my singing.  However, let's just say that the Lord did not bless me with that gift.  If you've heard me try to sing you'll probably agree!

I think this desire to have the abilities and talents of others can sometimes carry over into the church as well.  We may be tempted to look at someone like our pastor or a worship leader and think "I'm nothing like them!  What could I possibly offer God?"  That's exactly the kind of thinking that Paul is addressing here in 1 Corinthians.  Does the fact that not all of us have the ability to preach in front of a crowd or sing beautiful songs mean that we can't contribute to spreading the Word of God?

The answer is no!

What Paul wants all of us to understand is that God has made all of us with different gifts and talents.  Each of us has a task that we perform as part of the Body of Christ.  The preacher may be the one who gets up and speaks the Word of God each Sunday morning, but it takes much more than just the preacher for the church to be effective doesn't it?  There are many different parts that must be filled and many different responsibilities that must be carried out in order to make sure that the church can fulfill the purpose for which it was made: to bring people to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and then teach them to be disciples.

If you are a Christian, then that makes you a part of the Body of Christ.  You have your own tasks to perform in the life of church, and the church needs for each person, each part, to do their work and to do it well.  Take the time to pray for God to show you what your role is in the church and then set about fulfilling that role with God's help.

Listen to the audio for this post here!