The Parts That Seem Weaker

Attitudes Shaped by Grace | Day 36

“On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” (1 Corinthians 12:22-26, NIV)

Grace and peace to you as this new day begins. Think back to a playground and two captains choosing teams. The fastest runner goes first, then the strongest kicker, then the captains’ friends. One by one the line gets shorter, until a single child is left standing by the fence, hands in pockets, trying to look as if it does not matter. Most of us remember that moment, either because we watched it or because we were the one by the fence.

The playground grows up with us. The world keeps picking teams, and its order rarely changes. It chooses the talented, the attractive, the quick thinkers, and the people who have something useful to offer. It admires the athlete, the executive, and the expert, and it quietly moves past the man with the walker, the woman who no longer drives, the child who learns slowly, and the neighbor who never seems to have much to say. We learn early that a person’s worth is measured by what that person can do.

Who Gets Picked First

The psalmist saw the same contest long ago and told us how the Lord looks at it. “His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.” (Psalm 147:10-11, NIV) Neither the strength of the horse nor the legs of the warrior impress him. His delight rests on people who put their hope in his love.

Paul brought that same truth into the church. In Corinth the believers were comparing their gifts, and some were tempted to think they did not belong to the body at all. Paul answered with the picture of a body. Look again at the verses at the top of this devotion (1 Corinthians 12:22-26, NIV). Notice the small word seem. The weaker parts only seem weaker. In God’s design they are indispensable. Paul also tells us who did the arranging: God put the body together, and God gave greater honor to the parts that lacked it.

That arrangement exposes something in us. Even inside the church we have carried the playground with us. We have looked to the gifted voices, the capable volunteers, and the people who know the most, and we have overlooked the quiet believer whose whole confession is that Jesus died for them. Our ranking reveals that we have measured people by their usefulness to us rather than by the honor God has already given them.

The Honor God Has Given

Paul reminded the Corinthians where every one of them had started. “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.’” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31, NIV)

None of us made the team on our own merit. God did not search for the strongest or wisest and then choose them because they impressed him. He chose in grace, so that no one may boast before him. Paul’s words “not many” do not mean God wants only a few. He wants all people to be saved, and Christ died for the whole world. No one earns a place in the body by strength, and no one loses a place there because of weakness. The believer who can quote whole chapters and the believer who can only say “Jesus is my Savior” stand on exactly the same ground, because both stand on Christ, who has become our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

Jesus praised his Father for working this way. In the verses just before, he had spoken of towns that saw his miracles and still would not repent. Matthew records what came next. “At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.’” (Matthew 11:25-26, NIV) The Father is pleased to reveal his Son to people who come with empty hands. That is still how faith comes: the Holy Spirit gives it through the Word, to the scholar and the child alike.

Through this Gospel the Holy Spirit changes how we see one another. God gave honor to the parts that lacked it so that its parts would have equal concern for each other, and the Spirit grows that equal concern in us. We begin to notice the member who is usually passed over. We sit beside the widow who comes alone. We learn the name of the man in the back pew if we do not know it yet. We make room for the believer with shaking hands to serve in whatever way he can. When one of them suffers, we feel it, and when one of them is honored, we are glad. None of this earns our place in the body. It grows in people who have already been given a place by grace.

Jesus Christ did not stand at the front of the line waiting for the strong to come to him. He came for the ones by the fence. He carried the sins of the whole world to the cross, paid for every one of them with his own life, and rose again on the third day. Through the Gospel the Holy Spirit called us before we had anything to offer, and Jesus has placed each of us in his body exactly where he wants us. Because of Jesus, no believer is ever the last one picked.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for putting your church together with such care, and for giving honor to the members the world would pass by. I confess that I have sometimes ranked your people by what they can do, and I have looked past the ones who seem weaker. Forgive me for the sake of Jesus Christ, who gave his life for me and for the whole world.

Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, holiness and redemption, and I have nothing to boast about except you. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit, who brought me to faith through your Word and keeps me in it. Open my eyes to the brother or sister who is so often overlooked, and give me a heart that suffers and rejoices with them. Bless those who are aging, sick, or slow to speak, and let them know they are indispensable to your body. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

We are grateful you began your day here. As you go into the hours ahead, may the Lord put someone in your path who needs to know they matter, and may you be the one who tells them. In the next devotion, we turn to the strength God has given some of us and to the people that strength is meant to carry.

To God be the glory.

Pray, praise, and give thanks, for God is good and His mercy endures forever.

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