Puzzled About the Body

I Corinthians 12:14-20

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 would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

Last winter I put together a jigsaw puzzle. The scene featured a harbor town with a lighthouse and a boardwalk along the water. Several of the pieces looked similar and I placed some of them in the wrong spot, making a mess of the scene. When I twisted and turned each piece until they fit together, I created a complete and pleasant picture.

Like the puzzle, God intends for us to fit together as his body, the church. The Lord made each of us different on purpose, because we all serve a different purpose. But as Paul teaches the church at Corinth, even though we are different from each other, we can still work as one body loving God and loving people. Paul said, “God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” He has a plan and we as a body can make it happen.