Recovery Christian Center Daily Meditation - 10/4/12 - Diversity Is Our Strength

"The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. 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 bod

y. 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.” In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad." 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 NLT

One of the problems in the Body of Christ and in recovery is a lack of unity based on a lack of acceptance for our diversity. The text tells us that we need each other and that all of our talents and gifts are important. None of us are more important than others. Just like every part of our human body is needed to function properly, every one of us that are part of the Body are necessary to its function. Instead of creating division surrounding our differences we ought to celebrate them. We need our different backgrounds and experiences everyone coming in to our fellowship needs to find someone they can relate to. It's time to stop tearing people up because they are different and begin to look at how we can work together as God intended. It's time to stop tearing down the folk that are still struggling and look for ways to help and care for them. It's time to stop looking negatively at a person's outside to justify our own prejudices and inadequacies. We all need to work together.