Devotion for January 29, 2016

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27; NIV).

            Part of Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 12 is that every part contributes. This has at least two implications: 1) parts that are more obviously helpful can’t lord it over those who are not; and 2) parts that are less obviously helpful can’t denigrate their own contributions. Let’s think about that second point for a minute. I’ve often said, for example, that the homebound often offer an invisible but important ministry of prayer. That’s important. Likewise, I’ve had a conversation over the years with the elderly along the lines of “Why am I still here? I don’t have any use.” But sometimes a person’s ‘use’ doesn’t have anything to do what they contribute. Sometimes our ‘use’ is that we offer an opportunity for someone else to grow in love and service. That’s important, too. And, frankly, those with the least to contribute offer the clearest object lesson that we are saved by grace, not by our own contributions. That’s one of the reasons I love baptizing babies: they are pure pictures of grace, of salvation as a free gift. In sum, the church does not measure value in the same way that the world does, and by the Holy Spirit we see value in every member.