Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

November 13
Wednesday


A PIECE OF
THE PUZZLE

READ:
1 Corinthians
12:12-27
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God has set the
members, each one of
them, in the body just
as He pleased.
__1 Corinthians 12:18
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At her birthday celebrations, the honored guest turned the tables by giving everyone at the party a gift. Kriste gave each of us a personal note expressing what we mean to her, along with encouraging words about the person God made us to be. enclosed with every note was one piece of a jigsaw puzzle as a reminder that each of us is unique and important in God's plan.

That experience helped me to read 1 Corinthians 12 with new eyes. Paul compared the church__the body of Christ__to a human body. Just as our physical bodies have hands, feet, eyes, and ears, all are part of a unified body. No follower of Christ can claim independence from the body, nor can one part tell another that it is not needed (vv.12-17). "God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased" (v.18).

It's easy to feel less important than others whose gifts are different and perhaps more visible than ours. The Lord, however, wants us to see ourselves as He does_uniquely created and highly valued by Him.

You are one piece of a picture that is not complete without you. God has gifted you to be an important part of the body of Christ to bring Him honor. __Ddavid McCasland

`````````````````Lord, help me not to compare myself with others`````````````````
````````````````in Your family. May I seek instead to be the person````````````````
```````````````You've made me to be, and help me to use what You've``````````````
```````````````````````given me to bless others today.``````````````````````````
__________________________________________________________________________________
Your life is God's gift to you;
make it your gift to God.

***********************Today's Bible Reading __ 1 Corinthians 12:12-27****************************

12 For as the body is one
and has many members, but
all the members of that one
body, being many, are one
body, so also is Christ.

13 For by one Spirit we were
all baptized into one body__
whether Jews or Greeks,
whether slaves or free__and
have all been made to drink
into one Spirit.

14 For in fact the body is
not one member but many.

15 If the foot should say,
"Because I am not a hand, I
am not of the body," is it
therefore not of the body?

16 And if the ear should say,
"Because I am not an eye, I
am not of the body," is it
therefore not of the body?

17 If the whole body were an
eye, where would be the
hearing? If the whole were
hearing, where would be the
smelling? 18 But now God
has set the members, each
one of them, in the body
just as He pleased. 19 And if
they were all one member,
where would the body be?

20 But now indeed there are
many members, yet one
body.

21 And the eye cannot say
to the hand, "I have no need
of you"; nor again the head
to the feet, "I have not need
of you." 22 No, much rather,
those members of the body
which seem to be weaker
are necessary. 23 And those
members of the body which
we think to be less
honorable, on these we
bestow greater honor; and
our unpresentable parts have
greater modesty, 24 but our
presentable parts have no
need. But God composed
the body, having given
greater honor to that part
which lacks it, 25 that there
should be no schism in the
body, but that the members
should have the same care
for one another. 26 And if
one member suffers, all the
members suffer with it; or if
one member is honored, all
the members rejoice with it.

27 Now you are the body of
Christ, and members
individually.