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One Body, Many Members

So, I just read this scripture in Romans 12, verses 3 through 7. It talks about not thinking more of yourself than you should, but to basically line up your thinking with how God thinks about you. Vs 3: "...Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you...." Then it talks about how the body of Christ is like a human body--many parts & different functions that serve one purpose--the healthy life of the person. Vs 4: "4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."  I have read this many times, but today I saw "and each member belongs to all the others..." for what felt like the first time. And now as I think about it more, I think, 'well of course we all 'belong' to each other!'
But think of this, a human body functions the most perfectly when all the parts are healthy and properly nourished and aligned...and if there is something wrong in any one part (no matter how big or small), it can adversely affect the whole body.  If somebody sprains an ankle, it can change the way they walk which can lead to back pain, that can lead to neck and shoulder pain, that can lead to headache, that can lead to sleepless nights...right? That one injured part can really impact the quality of that persons' life. Only a foolish person would try to pretend like there was no injury...not going to the doctor, trying to walk without limping, etc...and suffering in the denial. The wise person would be really diligent in the care of the injury so that it heals well. He would go to the doctor, obey the doctor's instructions, wear a brace or bandage if necessary, and keep his weight off of the injury. He would call on all the other parts of his body to make a temporary adjustment so that the ankle could heal completely and in as short amount of time as possible. The same thing is true in the body of Christ...if we know there is an injury and pretend like there is not, we will, as the body of Christ, be crippled. Not rendered completely ineffective, but hindered from the full potential God intends for us. Wow!

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