Mutually dependent on one another

Romans 12:4-8

4 For as in one physical body we have many parts (organs, members) and all of these parts do not have the same function or use,  5 So we, numerous as we are, are one body in Christ (the Messiah) and individually we are parts one of another [mutually dependent on one another].  6 Having gifts (faculties, talents, qualities) that differ according to the grace given us, let us use them: [He whose gift is] prophecy, [let him prophesy] according to the proportion of his faith;  7 [He whose gift is] practical service, let him give himself to serving; he who teaches, to his teaching; 8 He who exhorts (encourages), to his exhortation; he who contributes, let him do it in simplicity and liberality; he who gives aid and superintends, with zeal and singleness of mind; he who does acts of mercy, with genuine cheerfulness and joyful eagerness.

In these verses of Romans 12, Paul teaches us that as individuals, we do not have everything we need to complete the body of Christ.  He says that we each have a different function in the body.  When he speaks about this he uses the image of a physical body to draw attention to the fact that we are in actual fact in a certain sense, created incomplete.  Of course the nose is created complete as a nose, and an ear is created complete as an ear, but the ear is not the whole body and neither is the nose.  Therefore a body has many parts that are created complete in their own sense, but they cannot function on their own.  The nose is dependent on the ear to hear and fulfill that function and so is the ear dependent on the nose to smell and breathe.  The ear cannot fulfill the function of the nose and vice versa.  

God therefore created each of us to fulfill a specific function for the body of Christ, but He also created us to lack in certain functions so that we will need the other parts for the body to be alive and doing all it was created to do.  If He created each member of your body with all the functions of the whole body, then your nose would have had feet and then it probably would have been on AWOL a long time ago.  It would have given a runny nose a whole different meaning!😉 The nose would not have needed the body and the body would not have needed the nose.  If this was true then there would never have been a possibility for the body to live and move and have its being in Christ and in unity.  

When Paul continues to mention the different gifts that God gives us according to His grace, then we can understand that we all have a different gift given to us according to God's grace.  He has created the body with all these different functions so that we do not have a choice but to work together in unity - if we would like the body of Christ to be whole and healthy and functioning the way God created it.

What sadness that we as human beings just simply cannot manage to envision a world where everyone has a part to play, even though it is a different part.  We compete as if the knee will be able to become the toe, we feel inadequate as if the thumb can take over the function of the kidney.  We are jealous because we fear that the left eye will see better than the right eye - as if both are not needed.  If we can just understand that everyone has their own unique part to play and nobody on earth can do it as well as you can.  We are all unique, yet connected to a body full of other unique parts, and we are meant to make the most beautiful music together, being mutually depended on each other.

Point to ponder

Ask Holy Spirit to show you if you secretly feel threatened or jealous by someone else in the body with a different gifting than yours.  Ask Holy Spirit if you secretly do not feel adequate when you look at some of the other members of the body of Christ.  Both these viewpoints are ungodly.  Ask Him to restore unto you the uniqueness of the identity, gift and function He has created you with before the foundation of the earth. Ask him to reveal to you which one of these gifts He has created you with, then walk in authority with it without domination, in godly confidence without pride and in joyful eagerness without disdain or feelings of incompetence.  Bless the design God placed inside of you when He dreamed up your design.  

City on a Hill - Casting Crowns  

The estimation of value

 Romans 12:3

3 For by the grace (unmerited favor of God) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance], but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him. AMPC

In Romans 3, Paul admonishes us to not become prideful and think more of ourselves than we ought to, or have an exaggerated opinion of our own importance.  He admonishes us to remain humble and rightly estimate our own value.  Getting that right is sometimes a challenge for us.  All too often we tend to either undervalue ourselves or overvalue ourselves.  When we understand though, that we are part of a body (as he will explain to us in the rest of this chapter), we start to understand that we are all valuable.  Which part of your body has no value to you?  Well, just wait until that part is hurting or does not function the way it should anymore and then we are quick to understand the importance or value of it.  It's like that with us as human beings too.  We are all valuable - but not more valuable than your neighbour.  Status and accolades - or the lack thereof - does not give us more, or less, value in the eyes of God.  

One application of this in the context of this chapter would be to recognize that others have gifts I do not have and vice versa.  I therefore need to give them the opportunity to share their gifts with me, and I need to share my gifts with them.  In this way the body of Christ will be whole and healthy, giving and receiving from each other.    

Point to ponder

Let us ask the Lord this week to show us where there is distortion in how much, or how little, we think of ourselves.  Let us ask Him to give us a right estimation of the value we - and others - have for Him in His Kingdom.  

Lauren Daigle "You say"   

From worm to butterfly

Romans 12:1-2

12 I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.  2 Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]. AMPC

Romans 12 is a well quoted verse and we most probably are very familiar with it.  However, I do wonder how long we really stop and deeply ponder these verses.  Sometimes, when we are over familiar with a particular scripture, we think we know what it says and we probably do with our heads, but do we really KNOW what it says with our hearts?  

When Paul admonishes us to give our bodies as a living sacrifice - he calls it our reasonable service and spiritual worship.  Do we even think about the fact that our bodies and what we do with it - or do not do with it - is spiritual worship?   Definitely food for thought...

In verse 2 Paul explains to us that we should not be conformed to this world, but that we should be transformed by the entire renewal of our minds, so that we can know what the perfect will of God is.  We so often ask ourselves and others the question, what is the will of God for us in this or that situation.  I think when we ask that question we somehow expect some hyper supernatural revelation (which of course God gives to us in many instances), but after nearly 35 years of walking with God, I also see in this verse that Paul teaches us that the more we are transformed into the image of Christ and the less we are conformed into the image of the world, the more we will know what the will of God is for us.  It's sort of a given.  We get to know Him and His character and then there are just moments where we will know it is not the will of God for me to drink that beer or cheat on my wife or be impatient with my child.  I just know that simply because I know it is not part of God's character, and I have discovered His character, and I am not conforming to the world anymore but I am being transformed into the image of Christ.  The word transformation really means a metamorphosis - the process during which a worm becomes a butterfly.  It is an utterly complete transformation to the extent that the worm is not recognizable anymore.  That is the kind of transformation God has in mind here.  There is a stage in this transformation where the worm has been completely dissolved into a kind of soup and out of that the butterfly develops.  You see the worm had to die to itself completely before the butterfly could be born and develop and mature.  So it is with us.  We need to die to self so that we can develop into the image of Christ.  

Look at this short video of this process of metamorphosis as it just illustrates this process so beautifully..

From worm to butterfly  

 

Point to ponder

 Let us ask Jesus to show us this week which area of our mind is not entirely renewed yet and allow Him to then transform that area into the image of Christ.  

I surrender