“But God has carefully designed each member and placed it in the body to function as He desires.” 1 Corinthians 12:18
I never realized how much coaching three-year-olds would teach me in life.
Have you ever watched young kids play a team sport for the first time? If so, then you likely know what it looks like for every player be within ten feet of the ball at all times, regardless of which team they are on, the sport they are playing, or the size of the playing area. They are enamored by the ball and even more so by the goal of the game; score a point. Every kid wants to be the hero and to them, winning was a personal matter of being the one who scored rather than being on the winning team.
After an hour with the three and four year olds, my friend and I would coach five and six year olds for an hour, followed by seven to ten year olds. It was amazing to see the progressive difference between these age groups as we coached them back to back to back. Let’s just say that the youngsters were not exactly successful in scoring points. Their strategy of chasing the ball, just to turn around and be stuck in the cluster was not effective. But with each age group came a visible difference in their understanding of the game. They began to utilize the space that was given to them. They began to put themselves in better positions on the field to be more effective players and they began to string passes together in the pursuit to score a goal. Their focus began to shift from themselves to their team.
With this visual in mind, let us remember the way that Paul speaks of the body of Christ. I would encourage you to go back and read the entire passage of 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 and let it speak to you. Paul reminds the Christians we are “all baptized by one Spirit as to form one body” (verse 13), that just as there are many parts of the human body, there are also many parts within the body of Christ (verses 14 &20) and even beyond that, God has placed each piece “just as He wanted them to be” (verse 18).
Brothers and Sisters in Christ. Upon our acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives, we are handed our team jersey; the Holy Spirit of God. We are officially part of the team; the body of Christ.
But recognize that within our team, we are all called to different positions and that is a beautiful thing!
The worship leader at church this weekend spoke about unity for a few moments. She claimed that we often hear unity and think of sameness. We picture unity meaning that we all act the same, think the same, form the same opinions, and walk the same lives. But that is just not the case.
Philippians 2:2 says, “So I’m asking you, my friends, that you be joined together in perfect unity – with one heart, one passion, and united in one love. Walk together with one harmonious purpose and you will fill my heart with unbounded joy” (TPT).
“One harmonious purpose.” We are not asked to be identical to the Christian standing next to us, but to be united in love and to be like-minded as we work towards a common goal. Well guess what? God has already united us in love when He freely placed His Spirit within us, because He is love and He has also revealed to us our common goal; to glorify Him with our lives.
And to make it even more clear for us, God tells us that He has made each and every one of us different on purpose, every detail done with intention, and that He has also placed us right where He wants us to be within the body of Christ.
If we all try to be the hero, if we all try to do everything, if we fail to use our teammates… we will be no more successful than the swarm of three-year-olds on the soccer field. But when we lift our focus from ourselves, and place before us and our teammates the common goal of glorifying God, we will find success in functioning together as the body of Christ.
Lift your head. Represent your team. Recognize where God has positioned you on the playing field according to that which He has called you to and equipped you for. Use your teammates. And most important of all, keep your eyes on the goal of glorifying God.
