One night during our daily feedback time with my team I was asked a question that really made me think. One of the students that was also staying at the hostel with us joined our team that night. After we all finished "checking in" (sharing with one another how we are doing physically, emotionally and spiritually) he asked us all, "Why do you do this?, I mean the World Race; why do travel around for 11 months with just a big pack full of your stuff, not really knowing where you are going to sleep or what you are going to eat or do?"
We answered, “Ultimately it’s because God calls us to love his people. His love has changed our lives and we can’t keep the love He has placed in our hearts to ourselves.”
And then he asked, “Do you think you are doing it? Do you think you are doing what God called you to do well?”
After feedback finished, (feedback is a time where we, as a team, build each other up. The point is to call one another up to greatness; to encourage each other to embrace and walk in who Christ created us to be.), I thought to myself, am I loving my neighbor well? Loving the people around me well? Am I loving my team well? Loving the family that God has placed me in right now well? Am I honoring them the way that God has called me to? Am I working in common unity with them? Working and living with them as one body with many parts? As I pondered this question I was reminded of 1 Corinthians 12, which in my translation is titled “One Body, Many Parts.” I read over this chapter and God spoke to my heart in new ways about community. I want to share with you what God revealed to me, because just as I have been placed in a distinctive community, so have you.
Ok, take a moment now to think about the people you are surrounded by. Your family, your friends, your co-workers, your church body, the people you pass by on your way to work or to school. Not just the people you enjoy, but everyone you encounter.
They are your family. They are your brothers and sisters. They are your neighbors. They are the people that God has called you to love. They are the people that make up Christ’s body.
1 Corinthians 12: 12-27:
“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free —and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 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.
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."
The body is a unit. Our physical body is a unit. All the parts have their own specific purpose and work together in order to live life to the fullest. So it is the same with the body of Christ.
And we all have the same spirit. Not one of us is greater than another. One is not greater because of wealth or health. One is not lesser because of status or skin color. One is not greater or lesser because of how long they have been in church or how mature their faith is or how well they speak. We are all equal.
Think about your body. Consider all the different parts: your eyes, your ears, your neck, your arms, your legs, your toes… If you say to your fingers, “I don’t want you?” or to mouth, “I don’t need you?” Are they not still apart of your body? It is the same for the people around you; you cannot say to them I don’t want or need you. They are apart of a body as well. They are your brothers and sisters and they make up a vital part of Christ’s body.
God has arranged our physical body just as He wanted in order for us to function well. So He has with His body of believers. It is not our right or our job to create the body. He already did, and He placed us together to function well in life. He doesn’t just want us to put up with each other, but to love and embrace each other.
God even says that the parts of the body that we think are weaker or less honorable we should treat with special honor. He is calling us to not just accept our neighbors, but to lift them up and to glorify them.
This passage also says that there should be no division in the body.
If your feet cannot accept one another, how can you walk?
If two people cannot get along, how can they live in common unity?
How can the body work as a healthy unit?
How do we live in common unity with the family God has placed us in?
When your body is weak, you do what you can to strengthen it, and when it is strong you rejoice and celebrate. It is the same with Christ’s body. When someone suffers, be with them, strengthen and encourage them. When someone is honored, rejoice with them. And do not get jealous because when one part of the body is honored, the whole body is honored. Because we are many parts, but one body. And as one body, we are all working toward one goal. To bring God glory.
My question for you is, are you loving your neighbor well? Are you honoring them? Preferring them? Are you placing them above yourself?
My prayer for you is Psalm 139: 23-24:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Ask God to check your heart and listen to the loving words He has for you. Allow Him to humble you, because His way is good. He wants you to experience the fullness of a life with Him.
After I spoke this message in church, a man (a deacon) stood up and announced in an obviously irritated tone that I took a long time to share and that there were other people in the church who wanted to speak. For some reason this man did not see it fit to honor me (as part of the body) and made it known by clearly dismissing the message God spoke through me. I wasn’t offended, and I spent the rest of the church service praying that 1 Corinthians 12 would penetrate his heart.
After the service, that same man approached me in a very aggressive manner and hounded me with questions.
“Where are you from? What church do you go to? What denomination is your church? How can your church not have a denomination? What is the World Race all about? So Christians of any denomination can do the World Race?”
“Yep.”
blank stare…
“It’s not about what denomination you are. We are all here together, and we can function as one healthy body because we love and believe in Jesus Christ. And we want to see His body grow around the whole world.”
“How can you come together if you don’t have a common denomination to base your beliefs on?”
“We do; we have the Bible.”
The man’s intimidating façade dissolved into a humbled expression of mere curiosity. He held out his hand for me to shake and genuinely thanked me for coming to his church and sharing God’s word. I instead gave him a big bear hug, which he awkwardly received, but preceded to thank me again for visiting.
I am now in Tanzania. It is beyond amazing. Blogs to come about the ministry and the beautiful people here! Thank you for sharing in this grand adventure with me! Thank you for all the support.
My final deadline in approaching in less than a month. (July 1st) I currently still need $1,400 more in my account by then in order to finish the race. I need your help. And I would be honored if you would support me by donating into my account.
Thank you!!! One night during our daily feedback time with my team I was asked a question that really made me think. One of the students that was also staying at the hostel with us joined our team that night. After we all finished "checking in" (sharing with one another how we are doing physically, emotionally and spiritually) he asked us all, "Why do you do this?, I mean the World Race; why do travel around for 11 months with just a big pack full of your stuff, not really knowing where you are going to sleep or what you are going to eat or do?"
We answered, “Ultimately it’s because God calls us to love his people. His love has changed our lives and we can’t keep the love He has placed in our hearts to ourselves.”
And then he asked, “Do you think you are doing it? Do you think you are doing what God called you to do well?”
After feedback finished, (feedback is a time where we, as a team, build each other up. The point is to call one another up to greatness; to encourage each other to embrace and walk in who Christ created us to be.), I thought to myself, am I loving my neighbor well? Loving the people around me well? Am I loving my team well? Loving the family that God has placed me in right now well? Am I honoring them the way that God has called me to? Am I working in common unity with them? Working and living with them as one body with many parts? As I pondered this question I was reminded of 1 Corinthians 12, which in my translation is titled “One Body, Many Parts.” I read over this chapter and God spoke to my heart in new ways about community. I want to share with you what God revealed to me, because just as I have been placed in a distinctive community, so have you.
Ok, take a moment now to think about the people you are surrounded by. Your family, your friends, your co-workers, your church body, the people you pass by on your way to work or to school. Not just the people you enjoy, but everyone you encounter.
They are your family. They are your brothers and sisters. They are your neighbors. They are the people that God has called you to love. They are the people that make up Christ’s body.
1 Corinthians 12: 12-27:
“
The body is a unit. Our physical body is a unit. All the parts have their own specific purpose and work together in order to live life to the fullest. So it is the same with the body of Christ.
And we all have the same spirit. Not one of us is greater than another. One is not greater because of wealth or health. One is not lesser because of status or skin color. One is not greater or lesser because of how long they have been in church or how mature their faith is or how well they speak. We are all equal.
Think about your body. Consider all the different parts: your eyes, your ears, your neck, your arms, your legs, your toes… If you say to your fingers, “I don’t want you?” or to mouth, “I don’t need you?” Are they not still apart of your body? It is the same for the people around you; you cannot say to them I don’t want or need you. They are apart of a body as well. They are your brothers and sisters and they make up a vital part of Christ’s body.
God has arranged our physical body just as He wanted in order for us to function well. So He has with His body of believers. It is not our right or our job to create the body. He already did, and He placed us together to function well in life. He doesn’t just want us to put up with each other, but to love and embrace each other.
God even says that the parts of the body that we think are weaker or less honorable we should treat with special honor. He is calling us to not just accept our neighbors, but to lift them up and to glorify them.
This passage also says that there should be no division in the body.
If your feet cannot accept one another, how can you walk?
If two people cannot get along, how can they live in common unity?
How can the body work as a healthy unit?
How do we live in common unity with the family God has placed us in?
When your body is weak, you do what you can to strengthen it, and when it is strong you rejoice and celebrate. It is the same with Christ’s body. When someone suffers, be with them, strengthen and encourage them. When someone is honored, rejoice with them. And do not get jealous because when one part of the body is honored, the whole body is honored. Because we are many parts, but one body. And as one body, we are all working toward one goal. To bring God glory.
My question for you is, are you loving your neighbor well? Are you honoring them? Preferring them? Are you placing them above yourself?
My prayer for you is Psalm 139: 23-24:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Ask God to check your heart and listen to the loving words He has for you. Allow Him to humble you, because His way is good. He wants you to experience the fullness of a life with Him.
After I spoke this message in church, a man (a deacon) stood up and announced in an obviously irritated tone that I took a long time to share and that there were other people in the church who wanted to speak. For some reason this man did not see it fit to honor me (as part of the body) and made it known by clearly dismissing the message God spoke through me. I wasn’t offended, and I spent the rest of the church service praying that 1 Corinthians 12 would penetrate his heart.
After the service, that same man approached me in a very aggressive manner and hounded me with questions.
“Where are you from? What church do you go to? What denomination is your church? How can your church not have a denomination? What is the World Race all about? So Christians of any denomination can do the World Race?”
“Yep.”
blank stare…
“It’s not about what denomination you are. We are all here together, and we can function as one healthy body because we love and believe in Jesus Christ. And we want to see His body grow around the whole world.”
“How can you come together if you don’t have a common denomination to base your beliefs on?”
“We do; we have the Bible.”
The man’s intimidating façade dissolved into a humbled expression of mere curiosity. He held out his hand for me to shake and genuinely thanked me for coming to his church and sharing God’s word. I instead gave him a big bear hug, which he awkwardly received, but preceded to thank me again for visiting.
I am now in Tanzania. It is beyond amazing. Blogs to come about the ministry and the beautiful people here! Thank you for sharing in this grand adventure with me! Thank you for all the support.
My final deadline in approaching in less than a month. (July 1st) I currently still need $1,400 more in my account by then in order to finish the race. I need your help. And I would be honored if you would support me by donating into my account.
Thank you!!!
