Sometimes within the body of Christ, we look around at the more gifted and talented people and feel very insignificant. We see the lady who moves congregations to tears with her beautiful singing, and all we do is move babies to tears when we change their diapers in the nursery. We see the man who presents his testimony in such a powerful, compelling way that dozens of people swarm the aisles to be saved, and all we do is scour the aisles at Walmart buying juice boxes and goldfish crackers for the weekly AWANA meeting. We compare our abilities with others’ and feel that we fall far short. Sometimes we even begin to doubt our value and purpose within the church.
God's Word teaches that within the body of Christ, there are different parts. Some are heads, and some are toes. For the most part, toes don't attract much attention. They're certainly not as pretty as faces, nor as vital as hearts or lungs. They're understated, unappreciated, and peripheral.
First Corinthians 12 describes the fact that there are, indeed, different parts of the body of Christ, "For in fact, the body is not one member but many." As the song from our childhood goes, "Head and shoulders, knees and toes."
At the same time, all of us are a part of the whole, "But now indeed there are many members, yet one body." If you are looking around at the other members of the body of Christ who seem to be gifted in more superior ways and are feeling like a toe today, you will take comfort in the following truths from Second Corinthians 12:
God has given each of us a unique part to play in the body of Christ. The “eyes” are eyes because they have an important role to play in the well being and effectiveness of the body. The same can be said for the toes, the nose, and the liver. Without each of the parts doing its job, the body would fail to function properly, “If the whole body was an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling?” (v.17).
God has created us exactly the way He wanted for His good purpose. There are no mistakes. As we live within our created giftedness, we fulfill his purpose and plan for us. “But now, God has set the parts, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased” (v. 18).You are not where you are by accident.
“Toes” are as necessary as “brains.” There is no place for pride among parts of the body. Each part is valuable. “Those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary” (v. 22).
Jealousy has no place in the body of Christ. Paul instructs “that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one part suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one part is honored, all the members rejoice with it (v. 25-26).
God often honors the least prominent parts of the body. While some of the members of the body of Christ seem more valuable because their abilities are more visible, God doesn’t see it that way, “But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it.” Perhaps God honors those parts of the body which serve faithfully because they are least likely to be noticed. As we live out our part of the body, we should ask ourselves, “From whom would I rather receive honor, God or men?”
Did you know that walking properly is impossible without the full and proper use of our toes – especially the littlest one? And when we cannot walk, all the eloquence or intelligence in the world cannot move us from our beds. If you've ever stubbed your baby toe on a piece of furniture in the middle of the night, you know the pain a body experiences when this tiny member is injured. Diabetics are often confined to wheelchairs because the disease has taken their toes.
If you're feeling like a baby toe in the body of Christ, here is the bottom line according to the Lord:
“But now indeed, there are many members, yet one body . . . and you are the body of Christ” (v.27)
May we live in the fullness of how God has created us!
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| This is a plant called "Baby Toes." It is a perfect example that even toes can blossom! |
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