So it’s a little
after midnight here and I just got up to go to the bathroom. It was definitely one of those moments
where I stared up at the ceiling for a while, wondering if I could just hold
off until the morning because the walk to the bathroom just seemed a little too
far. For the first time on the
race, I’m actually in a room by myself (privacy? What’s that like again?) and
there’s even a bathroom right across the hall. So, with no more excuses, I drug myself out of bed and decided it was worth the
walk. Big commitment at this time
of night.
Now unlike most
people with slightly above average intelligence, I decided the best decision
would be to keep the lights off.
It just seemed like too much work to flip the lights on only to turn
them back off in less than a minute, plus it would just ruin my night
vision. So I stumbled to the
bathroom, hurriedly feeling my way along the wall and then one of the worst
possible things that could happen on a late night bathroom run happened: my
pinkie toe met the unmovable object that is the bathroom doorframe. After repenting of the words that may
or may not have slipped in response to the sharp pain now shooting up my leg, I
had a decision to make. Would I
just limp on the toe and tough it out, or rely on the rest of my body to hop
back to the room?
This decision
proved to be a lot harder than I expected it to be, but while I stood there, I
was given a word that I think God has been trying to hammer into me. I’m made to be a part of a body and as
a member of that body, there is a certain interdependency that I need to submit
to. I’ve always thought it was
just God and me and that’s all I needed.
Sure churches are nice and all, but what is really important is just God
and me. Unfortunately, when Jesus
was asked what the greatest commandment was, He didn’t leave it at “Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
soul, and mind,” which is difficult enough, but followed it quickly with “Love your neighbor as yourself,” thus calling us into community
with others. It was then that a question popped into my head…
“What if you were the pinkie
toe?”
In a world that
glorifies it’s leaders, heroes, and gifted members, what if the only time I was
recognized was in my pain? What if
I had to actually rely on the rest of the body to carry me or compensate for my
weakness? What if I was completely
immobile because of the pain I was feeling?
I’ve been walking
through a lot of loneliness and pain this past week or so. I think one of the biggest reasons it’s
still there is because I’m just trying to limp through it and be a real man and
tough it out (as if that’s what real men do…). We’re not meant to
face these pains alone or get through them on our own time. We’re a body! We’re willing to join together to
celebrate or do good works, but when it comes to our pain, we don’t want to be
a bother or a weak link. The good
news is that God uses the weak, and we’re all broken, so there goes that
excuse.
There’s a reason
you’re not the only Christian on the planet. There’s a reason God made Adam a helper. There’s a reason Jesus called more than
one to disciple. There’s a reason
God sent His son to demolish the bondage of sin for ALL who believe.
There’s a reason we celebrate when people come to know the Lord.
We’re made for
each other. First to bring glory
to God. Second to unify and bring
His kingdom to earth. When I
refuse to be weak, I boast in my own strength and refuse the humility that
Christ set as an example for us. It’s
ok to be weak because, one last time…We’re a body!
