Muscles and tendons are interesting things, especially when you get older!
The other night I was at Taekwondo class. Our instructor introduced the side kick.
To do a proper side kick, you have to start with your supporting foot, toes facing forward. Then, as you bring your kicking leg up, those toes end up facing backwards as you kick your leg out.
When my time to do this came, my foot did not turn all the way as it should. The rest of my body tried to fall in line with what my mind told it to do. But my foot had other plans, it moved only half the way and then decided to stop.
This resulted in a slight twist in my achilles tendon.
I must admit, I have not given my achilles tendon much thought over the years. It's been there, a part of my body. But since I've been taking TKD it aches from being stretched after each session. The day after class I walk with a slight limp. It's a small part of my body, but it is crucial for walking. Just because I have not been aware of it, doesn't mean it wasn't important.
This time, the day after practice I had more than a slight limp and trust me, I thought about it. It's getting better, but still, this week, I think about it! Thinking about one of the "lesser" of my body parts led me to think about what Paul has to say about our body and the importance of all its parts.
Reading 1 Corinthians 12 this morning.
"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many." 1 Cor 12:12-14 (NIV)
Fellowship, relationship with each other. That is what Paul is talking about here. When we disregard fellowship, what we are really saying is, "I don't need you." When we do this, we have a negative impact on the whole body of Christ.
Let's read on.
"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!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unrepresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." 1 Cor 12:21-26 (NIV)
I have found there are two reasons why Christians don't fellowship. They either feel they don't need the others, or they feel they are not needed. Both are lies.
Do we value one another today? Do we understand our own value to the Body of Christ?
We are all part of something so much bigger than our own lives. In this country we just celebrated "independence", however when it comes to the body of Christ, we are interdependent with each other.
The body of Christ cannot function properly unless we are all healthy and doing our part.
