1 Corinthians 12:14-20

¹⁴Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. ¹⁵Now 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 part of the body. ¹⁶And if the ear 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. ¹⁷If 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? ¹⁸But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

Cosmetics

Who want to improve their appearance? Who want to hide anything from their face? What can you do? Use cosmetics. Cosmetic products can be used to care for your skin or hair. Accordingly, extreme weather causes skin problem, and some cosmetic products can help prevent skin aging. Do using cosmetics products practically prove that we are not very satisfied with our appearance?

Aside from cosmetics there are other ways to change our appearance. Fitness gyms had been seriously considered for people who wish to maintain their health and also to improve or increase their muscles. That’s admirable also.

Anyways, it is human nature to be wanting more than what we have. It only proves that this world offers temporary gratification. Satisfaction in this world is limited. The Lord has designed that eternal contentment can be experienced only in heaven. Well, we can explore the best option God designed for believers. Reflect on Genesis 1:31, ³¹God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

The term “very” is properly interpreted as extremely, exceedingly, greatly, immensely, abundantly or especially. Combine those superlative descriptions is not even enough to explain the enormously very good things that God created.

If God made it, it must be greatly good in his eyes. If God created us, then, we must be very good in his eyes. Can you sincerely agree? All things God had made were exceedingly good, but human instinct is always inclined to reject him. Mankind wants to change the immensely good things God has made. Why? Is it because they do not believe that God created them as extremely very good?

We may not necessarily change what God has made; we appreciate and take care of them. God saw all he had made as not just simply good but very enormously good. God himself validated it; he approved that what he had made was really greatly very good. And, he was very pleased with what he had made.

Jesus Christ declared in Mark 10:18, ¹⁸No one is good except God alone.

Only God is good, and only God knows what’s good. In contrast, mankind is sinful. Logically, we have no right to define the godly standard of what is good. As sinful humans, we easily see flaws and faults of anybody, but praise belongs to the Lord God Almighty. Through faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord God declares that believers of Christ are flawless, faultless and blameless in his sight. Amen!

When God declared that what he had made was good, it must be true. He was not pretending or joking because God alone is good. Therefore, he alone knows and decides what he considers as good. So, if what God had made was good in his eyes, his plans for us must also be good. Can you strongly agree?

Reflect on this: The plan of God is the best life we can ever experience. Do you agree? Why is it that many believers cannot readily obey his prescriptions?

Only by faith we can trust the plans of God as the best life we can ever explore.

So pray for increase of faith in God to trust and explore his prescriptions for you.

Do you sincerely agree without hesitation that you’re situated where God deems appropriate for you? If you can change it, do you still want  to be in the same situation you’re in right now? Well somehow, you may wish to explore something, and to change or improve what God has perfectly designed is human instinct.

Are you comfortable now and wish to explore more? To explore what God prescribes for us, get involved in church ministries and stop making excuses.

1.  Stop

¹⁴Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. ¹⁵Now 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 part of the body. 

By his grace through faith in Christ, we are part of his church his body. The Holy Spirit determines the kind of services he wants us to excel as he distributed different kinds of spiritual gifts. As training, apprenticeship, practicum, internship for Christian behavioral conduct, we encourage participation in church ministry.

In church setting, we learn how we can excel in the service that the Holy Spirit determined. One believer may excel in leading; another excels in teaching, still another excels in giving, preaching, singing or encouraging, what else? Have you discovered your spiritual gift? How could we practically use our spiritual gift?

Someone said, “Whatever you do repeatedly soon becomes a habit. When it becomes a habit, it functions easily, automatically and spontaneously.”

We participate in church ministries with peaceful gladness. After repeated involvement in church ministries, it would be more spontaneous for us to behave in Christian manner and conduct anywhere outside church setting. Do you sense peaceful gladness while doing your household chores and other responsibilities?

Just as each believer had been given different kinds of spiritual gifts for different kinds of services, likewise, each of us is uniquely created. If you follow the career path of somebody, you will have unique result. A comparison of who is the greater between two persons is not idealistic judgment absolutely.

Sports

In sports, they elevate and place their favorite player on pedestal as the greatest of all times. To support their claim, they present accomplishment of their favorite player. Yet, favoritism or political agenda had tainted and mired awards to players they assume as deserving; that is not the ultimate proof of greatness.

Referees are not always faultless. Judges may decide who they want to be the gold medalist. They determine who may win the Miss Universe crown. They choose who they think has the best talent in their show. Even in politics, majority will guess who should be best leader of their country. Human judges have flaws. Human decisions can be affected by personal agenda or political views.

Christ declared that he is the truth, and only Christ knows true greatness.

Christ declares about John the Baptist in Matthew 11:11, ¹¹Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

How do you interpret it? Christ declared John the Baptist was the greatest person ever born of women. What made him greater than anyone? John devoted his entire ministry preparing the way of the Lord by preaching repentance. The Lord appointed John the Baptist to preach repentance, and that was what he did.

Practically, we have our personal preference of anything. But if we prefer to explore the prescriptions of the Lord for us, we praise him. King David testified in Psalm 92:1-2, ¹It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, ²proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night.

King David was called the man after God’s own heart because he would do whatever God commanded him to do. King David always inquired of the Lord. He had his share of mistakes and flaws, and God had been gracious to David.

Most of us wake up in the morning thinking about our concerns of life; we go to sleep at night thinking about our concerns of life. But as believers of Christ, rather than being bothered by difficulties of life when we wake up in the morning and when we go to sleep at night, we could be singing praises to the Lord. To be filled with gladness is much better than complaint. Does it make sense to you?

2.  Sense

¹⁶And if the ear 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. ¹⁷If 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? 

It makes sense that the Lord created each part of physical body to function uniquely according to his design. If you see people walking with their hands, isn’t it weird? They’re called gymnasts. How about if you jump and land on the ground with your face first instead of your feet, what do you call it? It is called accident.

Who can appreciate it if God put the nose under the arm? Now, if someone eats food through their nose instead of chewing food by teeth that is not funny anymore. If parts of our physical body cannot function according to the design of God, probably, there’s problem. Can you agree? When any part of the body is detached or removed from the body, it sure won’t function normally.

Similarly, when believers are detached from the body of Christ, the church, is there spiritual dysfunction in them? So, how do you function in the church, the body of Christ? Have you personally discovered your spiritual gift, yet? Are there spiritual gifts greater than the other gifts? Reflect on Romans 12:3-8, ³Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. ⁴For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;  ⁷if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

The Holy Spirit distributed the kind of spiritual gifts that he determines for each of us to excel. He determines the ministry for us to be efficient. We practice our spiritual gifts serving the Lord in the church. Be prayerful; try ministries that attract your attention and discover the ministry God wants you to be effective.

Worship

In many churches, most worship leaders were university students. In one local church, the worship team would spend long hours preparing song line up for Sunday worship services. They were very prayerful, and the congregation was inspired to sing with all their heart. Does it prove that those worship leaders had spiritual gift of leading worship because they were musically talented?

Let us reflect on what the Lord Jesus Christ declared in Matthew 7:16-20.

¹⁶By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

In everything we do, ministry or private matters, always seek inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Ministry participation, leading worship or other involvements are testing grounds for practice of faith. Don’t allow pride to control your heart. Some people may appreciate what we do; some won’t. But no matter how others view what we do, if we have joyful peace, God had prepared rewards for good deeds.

Prayerfully discover the ministry that the Lord situates you to be effective.

3.  Situate

¹⁸But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

Tragic situations cause removal of hands, feet and other parts of the body. Intentionally, we cut off hair, eyebrow, eyelashes or nail for improvement. But to remove one eye and place it at the back of the head is weird. How about those who have surgery and changed sensitive part of their body with what they prefer?

By faith, we believe and trust that God Almighty intelligently designed and situated every part of physical body as he determined as appropriate and proper. Likewise, we believe that when the Lord establishes local churches, he appoints, situates each member of the church to effectively function in particular ministry.

Get involved in the ministry. Don’t wait until you are elected. Elected or not yet, participate in church ministries as practicum and bear much spiritual fruits.

Together, let us seriously reflect on what is declares in Romans 12:1-2.

¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ²Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Apostle Paul expressed the urgency to offer our bodies as living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. How is that? We do not conform to the pattern of this world in their worldly views. We should not easily agree with what the majority may think. Instead, we should be prayerful and discern what is good and reject all kinds of evil. Then we will know the will of God for us. King David testified in Psalm 139:14-17, ¹⁴I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. ¹⁵My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. ¹⁶Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. ¹⁷How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!

David relied upon the Lord always, and he never lost any battle. Before David defeated Giant Goliath, his brother underestimated him as lowly shepherd. A shepherd was the most deprived job in biblical time, but the Lord God chose the lowly shepherd David to become the greatest king of Israel. It declares in Acts 13:22, ²²God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’

David had his flaws and mistakes. His children were not exemplary. His relatives and friends tried to undermine his authority as king of Israel. But doing everything that God told him to do was open-secret to greatness of King David.

Anyway, do you strongly agree that the will of God is good, pleasing and perfect and his prescription is designed for our good? Are you strongly convinced that God determines where we are situated at the moment for us to be efficient?

How do you know that you are situated where God wants you to excel? Be watchful, and grab every opportunity that may serve the purpose of God for your spiritual maturity. When it’s perfectly right for you, you’ll sense it as pleasing and good. So, pray for increase of faith, godly wisdom and empowerment of the Holy Spirit of God. Be prayerful and seek to be inspired by the Holy Spirit always.

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