Outcast

March 18

On Spiritual Gifts

Read: 1 Cor. 12, Focus 12-31

Outcast

“I do not belong… I have no need of you” (v.15,21)

There are two things we must never say as children of God and members of the body of Christ: 1.) I do not belong and 2.) I have no need of you. Both of these phrases are rooted in lies that come from the enemy. They break apart the body of Christ and rob us of the edification and building up that comes from one another. Let’s look closer.

“For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.” (v.14-16)

Comparison is the thief of all joy. We know this. When we look around ourselves, we may see within the “variety of gifts, services, and activities” people’s ministries and abilities that we wish we had. One may be tempted to think that their own gifts do not count or are not valuable to the body of Christ. This is simply not true. Think of the way that the foot carries the body to where it must go, but does not grab hold of things once the body has arrived. The foot is down below in contact with he ground… dusty… dirty… walked all over. It is easy to see where a “foot” with think it does not belong because it cannot do “hand” sorts of things… but the hands would never get to where they needed to be without them! The hands are “higher up” on the body whereas the feet are at the bottom of the body. Maybe you have said to yourself that you don’t belong because you don’t have enough… you feel you are not rich enough, smart enough, successful enough, or good looking enough to be a part of the body of Christ. Again- these are LIES and patterns of thinking that war against the truth from God. Notice in the passage that this discounting of a member is first described as self inflicted. The foot says this to itself. The member deselects themselves. This sort of self-doubt dismantles the body of Christ. Say this to yourself - “I belong”. Write it on a post note and put it on your mirror. Say to yourself, “I have a part to play in the story of God”. Better yet, listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit as he says the very same sorts of things to you. Never say to yourself “I do not belong”

“The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” (v.21)

The second truth is that we can never look around us at other brothers and sisters in Christ and declare, “I have no need of you”. As soon as we begin to think of other believers as dispensable or extraneous we have moved AWAY from the truth. Churches should not think this way of other churches and Christians just not think this way of other Christians. We are ALL part of one body and we rise and fall together. Churches (read: leaders and shepherds) need to be cautious of the ways we speak and act in the church so that we never inadvertently communicate “I have no need of you”. Unfortunately, it seems like there are many people and gifts that we have declared “we have no need of you”. It is poignant that one example is the “head” speaking to the “feet”; I can easily see where “heady” churches could think they had no need for dusty “feet” churches. “Heady” Christians may think they don’t need the sort of Christians who are on the move… moving into the world around them and meeting needs. It can work the other way as well, with “hands on” Christians downplaying and having “no need of” biblical study or the exercise of the mind. Both are wrong. Be careful of the ways that we say “i have no need of you” without directly saying “i have no need of you”.

So what is it that ties this all together?

“…all were made to drink of one Spirit…God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose…the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body…” (v.13,18, 22-24)

It is time to stop saying “I don’t belong”. It is time to stop neglecting each other and thinking “I have no need of you”. It is worth noting that this passage is in the midst of a teaching on spiritual gifts. It is time we stop saying “my spiritual gift doesn’t belong… I have no place”. It is time that we stop thinking “I have no need of that spiritual gift… that type of gift… that service … that activity”. It is obvious that doing so hinders the health of the body of Christ. Listen to Christ as he speaks to you and tells you, “You BELONG. I have NEED of you.” Imagine what a healthy body with all its parts participating could look like! Love you guys. - JDP