Many Parts, One Body

I have been thinking about the idea of the followers of Jesus being one body with many members each having different roles and gifts.  Paul speaks about this concept in his letters, especially in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12.  So, what does the human body teach us about the body of Christ?  Some things are obvious.  If I stub my little toe on the coffee table leg, I am going to be limping around for a while.  And my attention is going to be drawn to my toe because of the pain.  We can see from this example that an injury to even a small, seemingly unimportant part of the body can interfere with how the rest of the body will work.  But I think there is more to learn from the example of the body.

Different parts of the body are designed for specific work:  eyes for seeing, ears for hearing, legs for walking, hands for manipulating things.  None of these are necessary for life.  Yes, the absence or malfunction of any of these make life more difficult but you can live without them.  The things that are necessary for life are the brain, heart, and lungs.  If one of them quits working death follows very quickly.  Also necessary are the kidneys, liver, and digestive system.  If one of these fails, there is a decline in the function of the body and eventual death.  All of these parts are hidden and work automatically.  You don’t have to think consciously about breathing, pumping blood, or cleaning the body of toxins.  And all are regulated by the brain without awareness of what it is doing.  The only time there is a conscious awareness of any of these is when one is not working correctly.

Paul tells us that the head of the body is Christ.  In body terms, he is the brain, the CPU of the entire system.  There are many ways the brain can dysfunction: a stroke, tumor, chemical imbalance (mental illness) and inborn errors (muscular dystrophy for example).  When any of these are present the entirety of the person is affected-body, mind, and spirit.  When a person has a stroke, the body no longer moves correctly, the mind becomes depressed, and the changes affect the person’s connections with family, friends, and God.  When a person is bipolar or has schizophrenia, the body responds inappropriately such as digestive problems.  Memory, problem solving, and other mind functions are impaired.  Emotions become distorted and erratic interfering with social, personal relationships and spiritual relationships.

What does this tell us about the body of Christ?  First, just because a person isn’t a preacher or leader in a church doesn’t mean that he or she isn’t important.   The body needs the administrators taking care of daily operations, someone cleaning, another praying, another talking to friends and families about their faith, etc.  All of these are the hidden things people are doing automatically based on their gifts and that give life to the church.  These are the essentials for the life of the body.  Second, when the connection to Jesus, the head, is damaged, inconsistent, or severed, the church cannot function correctly.  It will affect  activities, vision, and relationships within the body. 

I am still pondering what all of this mean and my own responsibility in this.  What about you?