Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function, so in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another. We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If one’s gift is prophecy, let him use it in proportion to his faith; if it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Romans 12:4-8 BSB
Paul says that each of us has a function as part of the Body of Christ. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word function means “an activity or purpose natural to or intended for a person or thing”. Your function is what you do to fulfill your purpose in the Body. Just like your human body, the parts of the Body of Christ are interconnected. We have different functions, but as Paul says, we belong together. I have a function; you have a function. God gave me my function. It is not more or less important than your function. He has given you your function, and the same is true for you: you and I have equal value.
Paul then lists some of the abilities or gifts that God gives each of us to carry out our individual function. Just as each person has a function, each person has gifts and abilities to carry out that function. These things all come from God and are therefore holy and precious. Each is necessary for the proper functioning of the Body as a whole. One is not more important than the other. Don’t fall into the mindset that honors preachers at the expense of givers and servants and leaders and encouragers and ministers of mercy. Let’s learn to appreciate the gifts within us and the gifts around us. They’re all God-given.
As we go into the house of the Lord today, be who He has made you to be and do what He has given you to do. I’ll appreciate you, and complement you, and profit from the gift that is in you. We each belong to one another, and we all belong to Him.
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