One body

For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many. – 1 Corinthians 12.12-14ff

This is a passage that I would love to see illustrated. I would love to have the skill to take the images here and put them on paper. You can almost see the humour as Paul tries to describe how silly it would be if we all tried to be the same. Paul refers to the church as a body. He states that just like a body has many members so does the church. All of our body parts have different functions. Paul uses the various body parts to illustrate the truth he is getting across. The has had its job. The eye has its job. The ears hear and the feet get us around.

But what would it be like if my foot tried to be my ear? What would happen if my hands tried to hear? What would happen if all I was was a great big eyeball? How could I get around? How could I hear? What could I do? As Paul puts it 'if the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?'

Paul’s illustration seems almost silly – and I think that it is the point. It is downright silly when we try to be something or someone we are not. I am designed for the job God gave me. Everybody of my body must do its part for me to function. Every part of the Body of Christ must do the same.