“Mark how the hand comes to the defense of the eye in its weakness; and how the eye with its sight, and from its elevated position, keeps watch for the welfare of the lowly, blind, but laborious and useful foot. The mutual helpfulness of these members is absolutely perfect. Such should be the charity between brother and sister of God’s family on earth.”
– William Arnot (Leaves of Gold, pg. 133)
The human body is a fascinating thing, a truly marvelous work of biological engineering. It is at the same time incredibly resilient and decidedly fragile. When a certain part is not functioning well, the ability of the body to compensate is impressive. While we frequently observe this capacity to overcome, we still know that the peak performance of the body happens when every part is functioning, and doing so in concert with the others.
“But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7). Scripture is abundantly clear that the Christian life is not designed for isolation. Instead, each follower of Jesus becomes part of a body called the Church, and is uniquely gifted by the Holy Spirit to function as a complimentary part of the body. Any contrasting attitude toward the Christian life is not aligned with the Bible. As deeply personal as Christianity is, it is not a private faith that endorses isolation. Each Spirit-born disciple of Jesus is created to serve the purposes of the Body, i.e. the Church.
Arnot’s observation reminds us of how our individual design makes us both unique and interdependent. Have you ever jammed your toe into the footrest of your bed, or your shin into the edge of a coffee table? It hurts, right? When it happens to me, I get angry. That may sound odd, but I do. I can’t get angry at the bed or the table; it wasn’t their fault that I walked into them. If I were to follow the illustration, I might direct my anger toward the eye. “Weren’t you watching where we were going? Now see how much pain the foot is suffering!” Feet can’t watch where they are going; that is the job of the eye. Likewise the eye sometimes needs extra protection when things threaten or invade. This is when the hand springs into action, doing whatever is necessary to shoo away the threat.
These are elementary analogies, but they offer an important reminder. “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you'” (1 Corinthians 12:21). Every part of the body depends upon the other parts. No Christian can rightly say, “the Church doesn’t need me.” We do need you. When any part of the body is missing, the best we are doing is compensating, not truly thriving. In the words of the Casting Crowns song, “we were made to thrive!”
See you along the Winding Path.
The Winding Path 