The Responsibility to be who you are, not who you are not

I Cor 12:12-27

Two things from this text that Paul was telling the church at Corinth and us:

1.   You ARE a part

2.   You are ONLY a part

The body has many parts and the body NEEDS every part. You ARE a part!

Just one mental picture/story I want you to think about today:

One day, a mouth, a hand, a foot and an eye were lying in the road…

Both the foot and the eye were not like any other feet and eyes that had ever been seen:

The foot was at least a size 20 and was very athletic and very fast.

The foot had superhero ability on the road.

It could run with the best Olympic athletes.

It could move quickly and was able to dodge almost anything because of its ability as the best foot in the land.

The eye was unlike any other eye that had ever been seen.

It was enormous, weighing in at over 50 pounds.

Its size gave it superhero vision and it was spectacular in its ability to see.

It had better than 20/20 vision and could see things, even small things, a very long way away.

The mouth and hand, however, were nothing to write home about.

Ordinary in size and ability, they had been thrown to the side of the road, and the mouth had even landed up in the gutter.

One day as they were all laying there, the eye spotted something a long way away.

“That’s a truck,” the eye thought to itself, “coming down the road.

The foot and I are right in its path.

We’d better get out of the way. I better let the foot know.”

But the eye couldn’t speak, nor could it move.

The foot was unaware of the danger, because the foot couldn’t see.

The mouth might have said something, but it was also unaware, and the fingers couldn’t lend a hand, not knowing what was coming.

Fortunately for all of them, each not only recognized its own limitations, it also understood its responsibility to help the others with its own special talent. The mouth said the word, the foot stepped in and the hand dragged the eye and the foot to safety.

Now, back to I Cor 12:12-27

12 A person's body is one thing, but it has many parts. Though there are many parts to a body, all those parts make only one body. Christ is like that also. 13 Some of us are Jews, and some are Greeks. Some of us are slaves, and some are free. But we were all baptized into one body through one Spirit. And we were all made to share in the one Spirit.

 14 The human body has many parts.15 The foot might say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not part of the body." But saying this would not stop the foot from being a part of the body.16 The ear might say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not part of the body." But saying this would not stop the ear from being a part of the body.17 If the whole body were an eye, it would not be able to hear. If the whole body were an ear, it would not be able to smell.18-19 If each part of the body were the same part, there would be no body. But truly God put all the parts, each one of them, in the body as he wanted them.20 So then there are many parts, but only one body.

The body has many parts and the body NEEDS many parts. You are ONLY a part!

 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the foot, "I don't need you!"22 No! Those parts of the body that seem to be the weaker are really necessary.23 And the parts of the body we think are less deserving are the parts to which we give the most honor. We give special respect to the parts we want to hide.24 The more respectable parts of our body need no special care. But God put the body together and gave more honor to the parts that need it25 so our body would not be divided. God wanted the different parts to care the same for each other.26 If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it. Or if one part of our body is honored, all the other parts share its honor.  27 Together you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of that body.

So what is the point for you? What is the point for me?

Ø  Some of you are good at math but not language arts

Ø  Some of you can sing but you aren’t that good at sports

Ø  Some of you are good at soccer or basketball or football but can’t write poetry

Ø  Some of you love animals

Ø  Some of you can draw

If you think you have no special talent, remember this: you are responsible to be a part and you are needed.

If you great at something, maybe even the greatest, remember this:

You are only responsible to be a part.

The world needs doctors, lawyers, teachers, grocers, bus drivers, farmers and electricians.

But God needs people who are confident (you ARE a part) and humble enough (ONLY a part) to be the part that He wants them to be.