Daily Devotions
Sometimes on Sunday morning I like to just sit there and look around at all the different people who make up our bit of the body of Christ here in St. Louis. There’s the man who videotapes our Vietnamese service, and the woman who makes tea and oversees the snacks at Bible study. Down the hall someone is teaching this year’s batch of confirmands. Upstairs English worship is going on, with musicians, readers, a preacher, and the folks who serve as greeters and ushers. In the narthex someone is talking to a homeless man who came for help today.
Much less visible but just as important are the ones who set up the tables for coffee hour, for the sake of members who can’t stand very long, like me. There are the people who run the food pantry, and the man who pulls together the bulletin and newsletter every week. I’m aware of several people who have no title at all, but they make it their job to watch out for other people who need help—those who are sick or having housing problems or who just need a ride to church or the grocery store.
Visible or invisible, these are the people Jesus has chosen to make up His body, the church, in this location. Why do they do what they do? Because of love—because Jesus has loved them, and laid down His life to save them and make them His own. And now that He has risen from the dead, His love lives in them, and His Spirit moves them to do what is needed by the church and by the community we serve.
It’s beautiful. And you, as a member of the body of Christ, are part of it.
WE PRAY: Lord, show me what You have for me to do in Your body. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
1. How easy is it for you to live without parts of your body?
2. What does this suggest about how Christ values you?
3. If your current role is severely limited, does that make you any less a valuable part of the body? Why or why not?