I am so keenly aware that if we don’t take our place with a collective obedience and deep understanding of what a great honor it is to 𝘣𝘦 the church and 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 the church, wherever and whatever the assignment, we’ll simply become critics of the bride (one another) instead of builders of her. Without honor for the collective whole of the body of Christ, we become like a bride tearing herself apart as she’s trying to walk down the aisle to meet the bridegroom.
What good is a torn and tattered bride screaming at herself, “Be more like my toe! No, be like my lung—you can’t breathe without me! Don’t be foolish; the hands are the best part—they do all the good work. Be like them or you’ll be judged!” Does that not paint a picture of sheer crazy?! This would be a hard wedding to watch, yet this is us, the bride, self-mutilating and comparing our different limbs, functions, and organs as being more or less superior than others instead of coming together and appreciating the whole!
⠀We need to stop body shaming the bride and gain greater biblical understanding of how to actually have, appreciate, and walk in true unity in our diversity so that we can move the Great Commission forward.
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1 Corinthians 12:14–21 & 27 is paramount.
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“Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you….”
All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. (NLT)”