Part of a Team

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves[d] or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, yet one body." (1 Corinthians 12:12-18)

Have you been part of a team? Pastor Eric talked about a team he was very familiar with, the Lewisville Fighting Farmers. In 1996, this small town, starting to become a suburb in the great DFW Metroplex, boasted a state 5A football champion from a team of average players, Eric noted. Eric knows because he played on this team.

My in-laws lived in DFW, and my wife's sister and brother-in-law lived in Flower Mound (the municipality directly to the north and part of the same school district). I grew up in Houston and remember chuckling when we drove by the water tower that had the logo and the name "Fightin' Farmers" and saying to my friend (brother-in-law), "What's a "fightin farmer"?" in the early 1990's. Little did I know they would be state champions in a great game televised which I watched. Eric talked about a great team with average players capable of defeating a team of blue-chip wonders (young men committed to a major D1 program) to go to state and winning.

Teamwork is complex yet simple. We talked about what makes a good/great team last night. Common goals, everyone doing his part, a good leader, a good plan ... Then someone brought up 1 Corinthians 12. The body of Christ, also known as the church, is composed in a comparable manner. One body, many parts, each useful to the overall life of the body. No part can say it is greater than the other. Each contributing in its way to the success of life in the body. That's what we talked about and that's what Paul is talking about.

Pray with me: Gracious Father, we give thanks for your word which is alive in our body as your church. We give thanks for meaningful conversations among men to give us knowledge to help us learn how we can contribute each in our own way. No one part greater than the other. In your Son's name we pray, Amen.