When You Feel Like a Toe

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!

This is a plant called "Baby Toes."  It is a perfect example that even toes can blossom!

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Real Men Sing Loud

I absolutely love to stand next to Steve during worship time.  He sings louder than anyone I've ever known.  He loves God, and he wants everyone to know it. The volume of his impressive voice is so well known at our church that one day we ordered him a Promise Keepers t-shirt  that said REAL MEN SING LOUD. Thankfully, he has a perfectly pitched baritone voice, but it is not his perfect pitch that makes me want to stand next to Steve at church.

What attracts me to Steve's worship circle is what I notice happening in me when I am near him.  When he opens his mouth to loudly praise God through song,  I notice that I sing more loudly too.  When his voice swells and fills the sanctuary next to me, I am less hesitant to sing out.

You see, my voice is much less perfectly pitched than Steves, and it is  not always on key.  My voice squeaks at the high notes and fades on the low ones.  Sometimes I miss a note entirely or hold it too long. I am not bold when I sing praises to God, because I am afraid I won't do it right and someone will notice.  I don't want to embarrass myself.

When Steve's voice washes over me on its way to God, however, I know I can sing as loudly as I want, and no one but God will hear me. Steve's voice covers mine and makes me bold to do what I am not brave enough to do on my own.  Steve's voice gives me courage.

Zephaniah 3:17 reminds me of Steve.  It says that  "God. . . rejoices over us with gladness and exults over us with loud singing."

Like Steve, God  likes to sing loudly. 

And what is the object of His praise? 

Me. 

Me?

Me!

Me with the impatient nature and selfish disposition.  Me with good intentions but not always good follow through. Me who tends to serve when it's convenient, but not when it's hard.  Me who in my pursuit of God hits more sour notes than good ones. 

Me.

Zephaniah 3:17 reminds me that like Steve's voice covers mine and makes me less afraid to sing out, God's voice over me can do the same. God is so in love with me that He wants the world to know. He believes in me, rejoices over me, and sings over me.  God's voice can cover me and make me bold. His voice can give me courage. His voice can empower me to step out in faith and do what I know He is calling me to do, whether I do it right every time or not.

Dear friend, when you are tempted allow your imperfections to keep you from doing something for God, remember today that He is exalting over you with singing.

Loud singing.

Would you join Steve and me as we lift our voices and our actions to SING OUT for the glory of God?

CHOSEN

 
 
I marked the date on my calendar and circled it in red.  April 1st.  I knew I would have to wait until at least nine a.m. before checking the website to see if I had won.  I had submitted yet another entry in a scholarship competition to attend the She Speaks Writers conference, and April 1st was the day they would announce the winner.
 
At one second after 9 a.m. I logged onto the website and whispered one more prayer for God’s will and the grace to accept whatever that was. . .
 
I dutifully read the preliminary words about how each writer was a winner even if they weren’t chosen, and how difficult it had been to choose the winner out of 160 articles submitted for consideration.  I read the encouragement to “Keep writing.” and “Don’t give up."
 
Then I reached the paragraph that contained the winner’s name. . . 
 

and it wasn’t mine.  

 

I wasn’t chosen.

 

Not chosen.  Not chosen.  Not chosen.  Not good enough.  The words echoed in my head as the breath I had been holding escaped in a sigh of disappointment.

 

And before I could inhale, the words began again.

 

"The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth.”

 

"You are My witnesses, And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He.”

 

“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”

 

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”

 

“You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away:”

 

I am a winner.  I will keep writing.  And I will not give up.  I am CHOSEN.