Lighthouse Community Church

The appendix. Seems like a rather silly organ. Kind of hangs there off the large intestine, doing very little. If you take it out, no big deal. Maybe an inch long. Maybe two. Almost sad really. Most people don’t think about, don’t notice, don’t care about, don’t even know where their appendix is. Until … a little bacteria gets trapped inside, the little guy gets inflamed, the right lower abdomen starts hurting, a fever starts – appendicitis! Surgery now! If that appendix ruptures, then the whole gut gets infected, then we have problems. We can get really sick. Even die.

How could a little organ cause so many problems? Because it is part of the greater body. Everything must work together. If even one of the organs begins to fail, the whole body will suffer. As Christians we are all part of a body – the body of greater believers as well as the body of our local church. We are all members, or organs of this body. Which organ are you? Some of us think we’re the brain, the heart, or the lungs. Others of us feel like the left 5th toe, the right elbow, or the appendix.

However you fit in, and God, in His grace, has given each of us a role, the body must work together; there needs to be unity. “Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph 4:1-3). So how do we, with our diverse and unique set of spiritual gifts, work together in unity?

•    We must be humble: every gift is important; maybe yours is more visible, but realize that it is a gift from God and that you are responsible to use it to edify the body, not flaunt it over others! The pastor can’t be heard without a sound person; the sound equipment can’t be bought without a finance team; the offering can’t be collected without ushers …
•    We must be gentle: our spirit and attitude must be mild, we need to show self control; this results from a humble attitude. Sinful people working together will inevitability cause friction! How do you respond?
•    We must be patient: when this friction happens, our humility and gentleness will result in patience – when that team member forgets to bring something or is late, how do you react?
•    We must bear with one another in love: the first three attitudes all stem from and are seen in a forbearing love for each other. Love for God and one another underlies all that we do. Do we lovingly bear with one another, or do we complain, get bitter, gossip?

So, no matter what organ you are, we need to all love one another for who we are and what gifts God has given us. All of us are important members of the same body. And something wonderful happens—we not only have unity but as Ephesians 4 goes on to tell us, the body grows to be more like Christ!