1 Corinthians Day 82 - Lone Wolf

12:17 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 no need of you.”

We were created for relationships and by relationships I don't just mean romantic ones. God designed us to be incomplete without each other. We are like puzzle pieces. We are nothing by ourselves and the rest of the puzzle needs our contribution to be whole. There are incredible people in this world who are missing parts of their body yet find ways to accomplish the seemingly impossible without them. Recently I discovered a young woman in Romania who plays the piano and sings yet she has no arms. Many of us are familiar with Nick who travels the world inspiring others with his accomplishments and positive outlook on life even though he has no arms or legs. 

What people like him do is amazing but still limited. When part of the body is MIA the rest of the body suffers. What is really interesting about the body is that we can survive without many of the visible parts but if you were to take away any of the unseen parts we would be in far worse shape. We may even die. I believe God is teaching a lesson by this. We tend to overvalue the visible up front people. I can tell you after twenty plus years in ministry as the up front person that the success of a local church is not found there. It's the people and actions that go on behind the scenes that keep a church truly healthy or make it toxic and unhealthy. It's how the members treat each other, support each other, and interact in the community in which they live and serve that have the greatest impact on the health and long term success of a church. 

Never be fooled by thinking any one person is less or more important based on the function they have or the position they hold. Any individual who is successful is only successful because he or she works in a team and they make him or her shine. That being said God has designed each of us for a place to serve. It may be visible. It may be invisible. It does not matter. Visible or invisible you are needed in the very place God designed for you to be. It is the place you will find the most success and fulfillment because God knows what He is doing.