Skip to main content

Swimming -- Body parts

Good Morning!  I'm hoping you're curious, so I won't delay.

Swimming requires all of my body parts...those visible and those not visible...it's a total body workout. 

Swimming requires all parts of me to work together to complete the strokes and propel me from start to finish of each lap I swim.  There is a specified movement or job for each part of me.  Some parts are seen and some are hidden, but all are needed.

Imagine my legs trying to do the work of my arms while I'm swimming the front crawl.  Hilarious, right?!  And disastrous too!  I would be standing up and gasping for air in very short order if I tried to swim legs first.  Not only is it impossible for legs to move in the same way as arms, but I'd be swimming backwards and blind.

The same is true in the body of Christ.  Christ's body, the church, is just like the body of a swimmer.  Each part has a specified purpose, is designed to function for that purpose, and placed in the exact right position in the body to fulfill that purpose!  Exciting stuff, right?!

So why is it so easy to see the futility of swimming with my brain trying to breathe and my arms trying to see, but so hard to see my own unique and important role in the body of Christ?

It seems like a no brainer and yet it's way too easy to second guess God.  I look at someone else and think I could do what they do better than they do.  Or, I feel awkward doing my part and decide I'm useless and of little value to the body. 
 
Both of these are dangerous mindsets and hurt the body!!!  One causes me to try to do what someone else was created to do.  The other presses me to shut down and quit doing anything at all.

In Ephesians 2:10 we're told "we are of God's making, created in union with the Messiah Yeshua for a life of good actions already prepared by God for us to do."

And 1st Corinthians 12:18 reminds us that "God arranged each of the parts in the body exactly as He wanted them."

LORD, pride invites me to think I'm more important than others or tempts me to think You made a mistake when You made me, where You put me, or in what You prepared me to do.  I invite You to stretch me, grow me, and train me to be a strong and courageous daughter who delights in serving You alongside all the other parts of Your body...Your church!  Thank You!!! Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2 Peter 1:2 - May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

I've been away, but I've not been idle. I've been healing and learning. Healing from all the grief our family has experienced in these last few years, and learning from the LORD during the healing process. No! I didn't quit life, but I did spend most of my time in our Heavenly Father's lap surrounded by His love and comfort. The problem was, I was a hot mess whenever I crawled out and tried to get back to living life as usual. Believe me when I tell you I've cried a lot of tears, but God was there to capture each one and continued to love and comfort me. He was also there to pick up the pieces when I unexplectedly boiled over like oatmeal. Believe me, it was just as messy and just as hard to clean up.  Please don't misunderstand, it wasn't because the people in my life weren't there for me, but many of them were grieving too. Each death brought more grief, bringing me to a place where I finally realized I needed someone to help me see my way forward....
2 comments
Read more

1 Corinthians 12:27 - Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it.

Okay, call me crazy, but this is where my mind is today.  Everyone of us who has confessed with our mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in our hearts God raised Jesus from the dead, are saved (Romans 10:9). All believers are IN Christ. We are IN Him, He is IN us, and He is IN the Father. You can check it out for yourself in John 14:20. Every believer is IN Christ. Thinking about being IN Christ and a part of His body got me thinking about how a body is filled with cells. Well, you know me, I had to do a Bing search and find out what I could about the anatomy of a human cell and its function. This is what I found: "The human cell is the basic unit of life that can replicate itself." There are trillions of cells in one human body and they don't all have the same purpose or function within the body. But no matter what the purpose or function, every cell must replicate. No exceptions! Okay, translate that into us being cells in the body of Christ. We are not all th...
Post a Comment
Read more

James 4:2b - You do not have because you do not ask.

  Prayer is having a conversation with our Heavenly Father. Talking to Him is giving Him our time and attention. It's acknowledging Him as our Father, our Creator, our Provider, our Protector, and the Lover of our souls. One way Father speaks to us is through His written word, the Bible, and He doesn't beat around the bush when it comes to the subject of asking. Nope! He clearly tells us to ask, and when we ask we will receive (Matthew 7:7). And then in today's verse, He tells us we don't have because we don't ask.  So why don't we ask?  I spent all week pondering that question. Short answer? Lack of confidence. Yep! I'm pretty sure that's why I don't ask as often as I should. And I especially have trouble asking for myself. Anyone else? My lack of confidence breaks down into three categories.  A lack of confidence in His desire to give me what I want. Which is totally silly! I know He delights in giving good things to His children, and He would neve...
Post a Comment
Read more