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Christ's Bodily Functions and Our Identity


We are not defined by our part of the body, but by being part of Christ’s body.

It could be easy to read 1 Corinthians 12, where Paul talks about how each of us are members of one body, and assume that we are just parts of one finely tuned machine. And while I want us to understand that we are not the whole, I don’t want anyone to get all worked up over which part they are.

Am I an eye? Am I a finger? Am I the middle finger? (Sometimes I think I would be willing to be the middle finger of the body of Christ.)

How exactly does a spleen work for Christ? A kidney? If I was the appendix, does that mean I could be removed and nobody would notice a difference?

Paul’s point, of course, was that the whole body works together and, just as a physical body is not as great without every part working together, so it is with the body of Christ. But I wonder if we sometimes miss the most important part of this.

We are members of Christ’s body! Our treasure is that we belong to Christ. The prize is not our bodily function but our connection to Jesus! (Yes, I just said bodily function and Jesus in the same sentence.)

When we talk about any awesomeness we have, it is because of the Awesome we are connected to.


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