What Part of the Body Are You?

When our children were small, we would spend a week each year with my husband’s family in a beautiful south coast town, and we would always pop into the local church on the Sunday morning we were there. One memorable Sunday, the pastor made pancakes in church. He talked through all the ingredients as he mixed them together up the front, explaining how each one was integral to the finished product. He then cooked them in front of us, and everyone got to sample the fruits of his labours. I’ll never forget how wide-eyed my children were, thrilled to see something so unique in church.

Baking is a process where ingredients in combination are key. Individual elements such as raw eggs or flour aren’t all that palatable on their own, but when they come together in the right measures, are mixed well and baked at the correct temperature for the right length of time, the result is satisfying and well worth the effort.

The analogy to the body of Christ is unmistakable. In 1 Corinthians 12:12, Paul writes: ‘Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ’.

God created us all to have a role to play, and prepared works in advance for us to do.  Whether it’s teaching, baking, parenting, or being a volunteer, we have to be willing, and to step up and be taught, if needs be. Otherwise, we can have a foot or an elbow trying to run the show, with disastrous results. The body of Christ will only be effective for the Lord if we’re obedient to the role He asks us to play. What is He calling you to today?