Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Dismembered Members; the Amputated Toe

I Corinthians 12: 14-26 NIV

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?... But God has combined the members of the body and has given 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.

This week I was pretty sick. I went to the ER to be tested for swine flu. I rejoice to say that the flu was not the problem. Then I went to my MD to be checked out. He treated me for bronchitis. Then I returned to the MD and was prescribed medication for inflammation of the bronchial tubes. A few days into this trial I prayed..."Lord, why is this persisting?" My own words (recently spoken to a Christian friend) came back to slap me in the face. We had been discussing God's will to heal. I proposed that it is always God's will to heal, but that we seldom follow his prescription. I commented, "In James it says if any of us are sick to call for the elders of the church. The prayer of faith will save the sick... but how many of us actually do that when we are ill?"
And here I was, lying in bed, having visited the ER and the doctor, with nary a call to my church.
So I got out the church bulletin and called. The message system said to press #8 if I wanted to leave my personal prayer request. So I did. But this hardly seemed like calling for the elders of the church. Kinda IMpersonal if you ask me. I hmpffed and pouted a bit. Then I got to thinking. Well Debora, just how personal have YOU been in church? YOU haven't exactly been johnny-on-the-spot in meeting the needs of others in the body of Christ. I started thinking about the body of Christ. I envisioned myself as a toe. But honestly, if I were a toe in the body, it might look a little black and crusty, sort of dangling on the foot by a thread. The truth is, I've kept a safe distance between myself and other members of the body. Don't get me wrong...I love my church and my pastor. He's a gifted speaker. And I've volunteered for a few odd jobs here and there. But I definitely have not put myself out there to befriend many people. Oh sure, I'll greet those sitting next to me with a smile and a "Hello", but getting to know them takes time. I've got a job and a huge family; a house to renovate and a big yard to tend. I'm busy. Well, I was busy. Before I got sick. I have time now, don't I? So guess what! I stopped by the church on the way home from the doctor and made an appointment to meet with a pastor for prayer. It's time to get some blood circulating through this little toe!