God faithfully leads us day by day. We still pray for whatever steps God wants us to take each day. I guess it is fair to say that we are quite flexible and able to change a direction quickly. Karly posted some thoughts, and I wanted to share them here in case you hadn't seen them yet.
My
thoughts on 1 Corinthians 12...
KARLY J.
KOCH·WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016
SO I was just reading these verses in 1
Corinthians and felt inspired to share my thoughts...
Unity
and Diversity in the Body
12 Just
as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so
it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form
one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one
Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now
if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,”
it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear
should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would
not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an
eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where
would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the
body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one
part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The
eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the
feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem
to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less
honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are
treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special
treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts
that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that
its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers,
every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with
it.
27 Now
you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has
placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers,
then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different
kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do
all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues[d]?
Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.
1
Corinthians 12:12-31
I
find it so amazing how God has made the body, and how He has made the Body of
Christ. I just finished a semester of Anatomy & Physiology, and while it’s
a hard subject to understand, I am fascinated with it! I think about how every
little thing is necessary in the body because of its specific purpose. Without
just one atom, cell, chromosome…etc., the body functions differently or is
compromised. For example, my heart started failing when my renal arteries
started to narrow and dysfunction due to DOCK8. When the heart is given
resistance through narrow pathways, it feels the need to increase the flow of
blood more forcefully. As internal
vessel pressure increases, the heart works harder. So the narrow resistance
made my heart work entirely too hard, and eventually my heart compromised its
shape to make sure it was performing to the level it needed to. The structure
change caused functional difficulty which is heart failure. Even my small
arteries are important for my body to function.
Another example is the production of a tiny little hormone called
cortisol or hydrocortisone. Produced by the adrenal glands, this little guy has
a huge job with handling the body’s stress. Being that I am adrenally
insufficient (where my adrenal glands do not produce cortisol), I have to
provide myself with the correct amounts of cortisol every day by taking it in
pill form. I learned that stress can take over very quickly when the body
doesn’t have enough cortisol to cope. I found myself in a high stress situation
where I needed more cortisol, but didn’t know how much cortisol I really
needed. I became very sick, debilitated, and could not do any normal day tasks.
This little guy means life or death in some situations, and I am taken aback
when I realize how perfectly each aspect of the body was designed. I can’t
believe that such an intricately, complex design can just happen out of nowhere.
What I can believe, though, is a loving Creator who spent time thinking about
every little detail, thinking about all the different personalities as he laced
every part together, and the tears of joy streaming down his face when his
design is complete. Every single part is just as important as the other, and it
is the same in the Body of Christ. Every member of the body of Christ is
absolutely necessary. We were all made especially different for specific
purposes. With all of our different talents, skills, and abilities, we are all
being used in God’s interwoven plan to produce something bigger and better. If
we were all made the same, we would have the same purpose and then only one
task is getting accomplished. God loves us more than that, though. He has an
individualized, thought out plan for each one of us, and He desires to use each
one of our plans in His masterpiece. We get to be a part of his wondrous plan.
He didn’t have to let us in on this, but He loved us so much that He couldn’t
resist. How amazing is it that such a supreme, omega God would yearn for us to
be in His presence, and to be used as tools in His blueprint?
Thank you Carly for that well thought out devotion. You are a blessing to me. Much Love
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