The Body of Christ: Stubbed Toes

For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you” (1 Corinthians 12:14-21).

A body’s movements are orchestrated by electric energy that comes from the brain. If you are running, your brain is communicating to your legs, feet, toes, heart, arms, lungs, eyes, everything—all at the same time. If one part is out of sync, you trip—or worse. The very same day, the very same body parts may work together to cook, to sit, to sleep, to stand on your head, to walk a tightrope…any number of tasks. Each part plays multiple important roles.

Just think for a minute about how amazing your body is, and how it functions completely on the electrical impulses of the brain. Even now, I am alternately typing and sipping a cup of coffee…and I don’t have to say, “Hands, move.” They just do it. They let the brain take over, and it just happens.

Christ is our head, and His Spirit is the electricity that makes us move as a body. Imagine how strange it would be if you were trying to sit down and just one of your knees refused. You would look pretty silly with your leg sticking out in front of you like a Barbie doll.

But that’s how it works when one of us is in sin.

I want to talk about something hard today.

A lot of us have pet sins, things that we do in secret (even in our own hearts), that we don’t really tell people about. Sure, we can still operate in our gifts somewhat if we are holding onto our pet sin. We still belong to Christ, and His grace is sufficient.  We think, “It’s just my sin. It doesn’t hurt anyone but me.”

But let me tell you this: if you stub your toe really hard, the whole body is going to have a hard time walking for a few minutes.

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together (1 Corinthians 12:26).

If one member of the body is sick, all members suffer.

So you may just think your sin is affecting only you, but it isn’t. It’s making me sick. It’s making all of your sisters and brothers sick. Not enough to kill us—but enough to hold us all back from operating as the body should.

I say this not to condemn you, but to give you new perspective about your battle against sin. I’m not sorry if the truth offends you. I hope it cuts to the root, cleanses you, and offers you hope. I want you to wake up to fresh motivation to wage war against whatever poison you’ve been drinking.

Whenever I’m in relational sin—that is to say, when I have a relationship with a brother or sister that is unhealthy—I can pretty clearly see how it affects other relationships in my life. So, I may excuse my behavior, my attitude, my thoughts, like this: “Well, it only affects the two of us. This relationship is our business.” But it’s not. I’ve joined the body. I am woven together with other believers. Therefore, I can no longer afford the luxury of the excuse, “This is my problem.” I’m that awkward knee sticking out in front of the body, and I better shape up real fast unless I want to throw things out of whack.

Now, you may be feeling hopeless. You may be thinking, “There is no way I can get out of this sin! I have tried for years!” You may have accepted it as just a part of your life, something you will always struggle with.

But there is a hope: Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). He is the only hope. He has a vested interest in the problem; He is the head of the body, after all. Unlike you, He has resisted sin to the point of shedding His blood (Hebrews 12:4).

And He’s ready to make His dream of freedom for you a reality.

(Stay tuned for my next post.)