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There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. 13 We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit. And so we are formed into one body. It didn’t matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves, or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink. 14 So the body is not made up of just one part. It has many parts.
Suppose the foot says, “I am not a hand. So I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. 16 And suppose the ear says, “I am not an eye. So I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part 17 If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If the whole body w9ere an ear, how could it smell? 18 God has placed each part in the body just as he wanted it to be. 19 If all the parts were the same, how could there be a body? 20 As it is, there are many parts. But there is only one body.
21 The eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 In fact, it is just the opposite. The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are the ones we can’t do without. 23 The parts that we think are less important we treat with special honor. The private parts aren’t shown. But they are treated with special care. 24 The parts that can be shown don’t need special care. But God has put together all the parts of the body. And he has given more honor to the parts that didn’t have any. 25 In that way, the parts of the body will not take sides. All of them will take care of one another. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part shares in its joy.
27 You are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it.
1 Corinthians 12:12-27
Since the murder of George Floyd, many people have taken to the streets demanding action but there has also been a remnant of individuals who want to do something but are not sure what that something is. I’ve been a part of that remnant and if I’m honest I felt guilty because I felt like the actions I was taking were not significant enough because nobody would see. I felt like the work of those on the front lines demanding justice was the most important thing and that because I was not participating in a protest, God might have been disappointed in me.
It wasn’t until one Tuesday morning when I was reading a book to my sons called You’re All My Favorites when I began to see that God is proud of the work each of us does equally. There’s no preference of one way over another to protest to speak up or to pray. His heart is about obedience and scripture says, the way we can honor God is by honoring the emperor, avoiding the appearance of evil, and speaking up for the voiceless.
Another passage of scripture that echoes these sentiments is 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. In it, we see that God honors all parts of the body. We all have a different part to play in this part and no part is more or less important. As I looked at this passage of scripture I saw three major narratives.
- The body has many parts.
- This is encouraging to me because it shows we all have different gifts. And as different parts, we all have different functions. This can help remove any undue pressure you may feel because your response to this past week’s events has been different from your family or your friends. If we all responded the same way some of us will be redundant.
- Even as I looked at this I thought of the parable of the ten talents. Scripture says the Master gave to each according to their own ability. God knows how we will respond and how we should respond based on our gifts.
- Pray for what your response should be and God will give you the wisdom to act accordingly
- No part is more important than other parts
- The eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 In fact, it is just the opposite. The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are the ones we can’t do without. 23 The parts that we think are less important we treat with special honor. The private parts aren’t shown. But they are treated with special care.
- Just because someone is not responding in the same fashion as you do, does not make them any less important. We all have to carry our own weight if we’re going to make a lasting impact. While I do agree that all should do their part to give a voice to the voiceless, I also acknowledge that since we did not create anyone we cannot try to dictate their responses. And if you’re upset because you feel as though God has given you a harder task than someone else’s you have to remember that He is sovereign.
- Romans 9:14-16 says What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion but on God who has mercy.
- We are all one body
- If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part shares in its joy. 1 Corinthians 2:26
As we see the results of the work our various brothers and sisters are doing we should be able to rejoice with them. For example, seeing how the calls made to the Georgia police department led to all three individuals involved in the murder of Ahmad Arbury coming before a judge in court. Or how protests in Louisville, Kentucky led to the no-knock policies being suspended. We all have a part to play in change being made so do the best you can in standing up for others as we all fight for justice.
Get involved:
- Call your Mayor to implement these #8cantwait policies: 8cantwait.org
- By implementing these policies police violence can decrease by 72%
- Sign up for our Pain and Purpose Prayer Walk