“so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” Romans 12: 5
I love mechanical devices.
I’m not mechanically minded, I couldn’t fix a typewriter or repair a petrol-fuelled lawnmower but I appreciate the workmanship. They are things of utter beauty in a disposable age.
That’s why I can’t help but walk past a jewellery shop and stop to look at the watches inside. Knowing that an expert in their field has loving crafted a timepiece of many intricate parts to function together as one piece completely blows my mind.
There are many cogs, springs, dials and gears that beat a consistent rhythm allowing the wearer to tell the time with confidence. They’ve been put there over many long and difficult hours of construction and testing to ensure it functions perfectly.
This teaches me a number of really important lessons.
No matter what we are looking at, the bigger picture is much more important. Each of those components is important in their own right, but you can never focus on a single item. If we did, the watch stops being a watch and becomes a giant cog. It loses the reason that it exists.
We have a specific place within the family of the church. We may not be able to see it all the time but our place is assured and valued as much as the others are. Without it our church family would not function just quite so well.
Every part is needed every part is wanted. As the sum of all parts they can succeed but only when no one component presides over another and they work in harmony.