Today I’m speaking at a camp retreat. The topic is spiritual gifts based on Romans 12, with the basic foundation of how these gifts work together in the Body of Christ. The body is a good metaphor for the church. Each part is not like the others, but necessary to the others. If one part hurts, the other parts hurt with it. If one part is not working as it should, the body suffers.
Today’s devotional is about unity. As the Bible says, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!” (Psalm 133:1)
Unity is not unanimity. We do not need to think the same.
Imagine if the arms thought like the legs and tried to do the walking, or the
toes thought like the eyes and tried to do the seeing. It would not work.
Unity is not uniformity either. We do not need to look the
same, have the same preferences in our worship, or all give exactly the same
amount of time and money in serving God. He gives us freedom and variety in
these things also. Besides, what would the body look like if all the parts
looked like a nose or a knee? How grotesque!
The Bible gives many descriptions of Christian unity, but
it seems to me that being one with the Lord sums them up. If each one of us is
listening to and obeying the Spirit of God, then the body will operate as it
should with each part doing its part in harmony with the others.
I need to go to the camp kitchen for an early breakfast
and will begin talking in about an hour. The wifi here is password protected
and I couldn’t find any staff last night to get that password. That means this
post will be made later in the day . . . or maybe not at all.
However, I’m
thankful for the assurance that the Spirit is with me, for with these thoughts
I can add a bit more in this morning’s description to the nature of gifts and
how they work together!
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