Members of Christ's Body

"And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honoured, all the members rejoice with it. ²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually."

1 Corinthians 12:26-27

These are verses I have been thinking over lately.  It is amazing how we are adopted by God into His family by faith in Jesus Christ, and by God's grace we are collectively added to the Body of Christ, the church, as individual members.  The church has many individual members which comprise the whole, but there is only one Head of this body:  Jesus.

Though the functions of the various parts of the body are varied and important, nothing is as critical as the head which has capacity to see, speak, hear, smell, taste, and feel.  Jesus is the One who sees all, spoke the world into existence, and hears all who cry out to Him in faith.  He created all the diverse scents and flavours, and His knowledge of us and depth of feeling for us is beyond our comprehension.  If a single sparrow falls to the ground on the globe it does not escape Him, and are we not far more valuable to Him than the birds of the air?

When a part of the body is injured, all the body is notified by discomfort and pain.  After I hiked through bush later I realised I had scratched my lower legs and needed to wash and treat the bleeding skin to prevent infection.  To do this required the attention of the whole body to locate and retrieve the antiseptic to clean the wounds.  My eyes showed me where treatment was needed, and my hands did the work of washing and applying antibiotic ointment and dressings.  My legs were not running on a treadmill when I put my first-aid training to work, nor were my hands balled into fists in boxing gloves as I slugged a heavy bag for exercise.  My shins suffered damage, and the whole body laboured towards healing and restoration of the wounded parts.

The human body has an internal nervous system which communicates a message of pain which prompts our eyes or hands to search to find the source.  It is an intricate and amazing system but it pales in comparison to the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit who indwells everyone who is born again.  Our connection to Jesus is not with nerves which can be pinched or numbed but is a spiritual one with no risk of blood clots, losing circulation, or being completely severed because we are one with Christ as a member of His body.  Our physical bodies remain prone to illness and injury, but in Christ we are immortal and eternally seated with Him.  The Holy Spirit is able, without us even saying a word, to prompt others to pray for us and reach out to help us.  We also have been given mouths and can speak to our fellow believers, and when we humble ourselves to admit our pains others can support and encourage us.  But our peace, healing, help, and life remains in God alone.

How does it feel knowing you are part of the body of Christ?  We need never feel forsaken or forgotten in Christ.  We are often forgetful and even the severity of our injuries escape our notice, but nothing escapes the watchful eye of our Saviour who created and loves us.  The blood coursing through my legs began clotting hours before I even noticed I was cut, and Jesus provides for every physical and spiritual need we have - sometimes long before we ever thought to ask.  We ought to seek Him and make our requests known to Him, for in doing so our faith is demonstrated in obedience.  May we honour Jesus Christ above all members of the Body, and in doing so there is always great cause for rejoicing.