– Honouring And Valuing
BRD REFLECTIONS:
1 Corinthians 12 (NIV)
(Ruth Tan, SGM Asst. Zone Leader)
READ:
Unity and Diversity in the Body
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body… 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 24…. But God has put the body together, giving greater honour to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.
OBSERVE:
As I read these verses about the importance of one body with many parts, I recalled a simple butter cake recipe. A whole butter cake needs butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and vanilla essence. Each of these ingredients has to be of a specific amount to produce a perfectly baked cake. As a home-baker, I cannot add more baking powder thinking it may give a better rise or omit it, since the recipe requires a miniscule amount. The small amount of baking powder needed is as important as the large amount of flour.
Similarly, each one of us is given an exceptional gift from God. Every gift has its value. In a recent Small Group Leaders’ Inter-zonal event, I saw Zone leaders who were quite unfamiliar with one another, gathered to organize an event for their SG leaders. I witnessed them, with their gifts, working together with love and unity. It was a rewarding afternoon, whilst supporting and encouraging the SG leaders, who were also honoring God.
APPLY:
My late mother has always taught me, the gift God has given me is to be used for the Lord’s purpose. I am to serve Him, in unity and love with fellow believers for the glory of the Lord. With humility and to the best of my effort, as the Lord has commanded,
Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
There is joy serving alongside sisters and brothers-in Christ, knowing this pleases God.
DO:
As a disciple of God, I must be tuned in to the Lord. Not only during morning and nightly devotions but to walk and feel His presence with me throughout the day. To love others and put others first before myself, as stated 1 John 4:7 (ESV), “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God….” To be prayerful and seek the Lord’s guidance in my daily life and in my service to the Lord.
PRAY:
Dear Father God,
Thank you for the gifts you have blessed me. Use them for your glory. Fill me with your love, to love others. Control my thoughts and my mouth to speak love and kindness. I pray and ask these in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer, Amen.
