Need a hand?

Anyone need a hand? How about toes, foot, arm, leg, knee, eye, nose, fingers, ears and mouth to go along with that?? If I had to say what body part I was I would pick the hand for sure. I am always waving at people, and using my hands to pick up things, do dishes, clean, etc...I need all the other parts too but it would be hard to operate without hands. Think how hard it would be if you were missing a hand or a toe or a foot. Our bodies work better when all of the parts are functioning. So it is in a church body. We depend on one another as pieces of a body to complete us and the church. I remember as a kid we would fold our hands and say, "Here's the church (put our pointer fingers up) here's the steeple, open the house and see all the people (wiggle all fingers around after opening up hands). :) What happens though when you fold your hands the regular way and try it. You open them up and there are NO PEOPLE inside. A building is no good if there is no one to occupy it. It remains stagnant, dormant and unused. We can also become this way if we let ourselves not be used of God. Each member of the church ought to be allowing God to work in and through their lives to direct them as to what functioning part they are in the body. In I Corinthians 12:13-20 it says, "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free. We were all given the one Spirit to drink.
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body. It would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body, it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? but in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where woud the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but ONE BODY.
It goes on to say, "The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" and the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!"
Just as this is true so it is true in the church. We need each other. For encouragement, for growth, for accountability, for spiritual food, for our spiritual livelihoods. We first off need Christ to be the center of our body and when each limb, part is working in accordance to His word how healthy of a church body it will be.
So, next time you hear the song, The toe bone connected to the heel bone,The heel bone connected to the foot bone, The foot bone connected to the leg bone,The leg bone connected to the knee bone,The knee bone connected to the thigh bone,The thigh bone connected to the back bone,The back bone connected to the neck bone,The neck bone connected to the head bone,Oh, hear the word of the Lord! Be sure to LISTEN to the Word of the Lord intently and strive to be a dedicated member/body part/bone of Christ's body in the church and never feel as if you are alone or have to hop on one foot to get somewhere or do something with one hand because you can reach out with that hand and allow someone else (another hand/foot) to be used of God.
Hands down, putting God first is always the key to any situation! :)