Kyle Olson 00:10
Welcome to Elmhurst CRC's daily dose of the Word of God. It's Thursday, January 20, and Sundays coming. This is Kyle Olson. And I'll be reading from I Corinthians 12: 12-26.
Kyle Olson 00:31
"Just as a body, though one has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by 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, even so, the body is not made up of one part, but of many. 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 a part of the body. And if the ears 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. 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? But in fact, God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them just as he wanted them to be? If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body, 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.' On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker, are actually indispensable. 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, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."
Kyle Olson 02:27
Let's pray. Lord, thank You for Your word. Thank you for your spirit, and that it is one Spirit given to us all. Lord, when we hear about the body of the church, it makes sense on a superficial level. Of course, the body is made up of different parts, but also Lord for many, they don't see themselves as part of the body, or they don't see themselves as useful. Or they can't even identify with any parts of the body at all. And sometimes, Lord, because we've been a part of this body, it's hard for us to see other people who may be outside. And Lord with so many ways for us to separate. It's hard for us to feel together and to feel as one and we feel so many divisions, even though you say there should be none. Lord, help us to have equal concern for each other. Help us to suffer with those who suffer and help us to honor and rejoice in the parts that we may have not seen before. In your name, Amen.