A Healthy Body
(Originally written July 2020)
We’re taught from an early age that weakness is in fact that – weak. We work to hide the things that we aren’t good at or struggle with because they show our shortcomings. Paul says something quite different. As he was struggling with some sort of weakness, it’s believed to be some health issue, these are his words, “But He (God) said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Paul recognized an extremely counter-cultural point. He understood the grace of Jesus so intensely that he talked with pride about the things that he wasn’t good at. Because he saw that as he partnered with Christ and walked in the areas that he was weak, the only person to receive glory and recognition in those times of success or triumph was God. There’s no temptation to take the credit in those situations. He’s already clearly stated to people his weaknesses. They know his shortcomings. If he’s successful there, then it turns into a testament of God’s power.
This promise is true for us today. The first step in walking in this truth is to recognize the things we struggle with. It’s good to talk about our failures, fears, and troubles. Those we share these things with ought to partner with us in seeking after the Lord. I’ve been told things before like, “that’s fearful and you need to figure it out on your own.” I do not believe this is the way the body of Christ should be operating. We, as the Body, are called to partner together in Christ. To push one another towards the Lord and help each other in times of need.
If Christ is the head of the Body, then a healthy body would help those struggling parts in their time of need. Let me give you an example. Let’s say I’m on a hike and I scrape my leg. I look down to the outside of calf and realize I’m bleeding and need a Band-Aid. It wouldn’t make sense if my hand told my leg, “hey bro, you’re bleeding, you need to figure it out.” No, the hand has the ability to help the bleeding leg. It can reach into the backpack and pull out the necessary materials needed to tend the wound. Healing for the leg comes from the partnership of the head and the hand working together to dress the wound.
If the hand chooses to accuse the leg of being dumb and fearful in how it scrapped itself and then refuses to perform its duty, then the body as a whole will remain unhealthy and wounded. The point is this, we all have our own abilities and talents that the Lord has blessed us with. We all, as Believers, are part of the same Body – a Body in which Christ is the head.
A big part of the way God is gracious to us is through other people. We are blessed so that we can be a blessing to others. Choosing to hold onto our blessing for ourselves is like the hand holding onto the Band-Aid and refusing to dress the wounded leg – it doesn’t make sense.
Again, we are blessed to be a blessing. Next time you see someone in pain, needing help, or operating out of fear do what you can to address the need. “They will know we are Christians by the way we love one another” (John 15:35). We are called to look after each other. We are called to live in fellowship. The church was never meant to be a show room, it’s a workshop. And we all have wounds that need tending to. Find ways that your abilities can help tend to others – this is part of the process of the Body of Christ functioning healthily and selflessly.
