8.19.10 "I'm glad you're odd!"

"I'm glad you're odd!"

Esther 4:1-7:10
I Corinthians 12:1-26
Psalm 36:1-12
Proverbs 21:21-22

Brett Favre.

Yeah, it's a great risk to even mention his name. I know many on this list are Packer fans, so to bring him up can be pretty emotional. But as you probably know I"m a Minnesota boy, so I've been watching the drama with interest. Minnesota is trying to build a team that could win a Super Bowl (actually I feel like they should have had it last year, but that's another Devo...) The "tractor watch" of whether or not Brett was coming back culminated in 3 members of the team flying down to Mississippi to get Brett this week. I'm sure there are many on the team that are sick of the drama, but it takes many kinds of personalities and skills to make a championship team. This loosely connects with today's scripture.

"Our bodies have many parts, but the many parts make up only one body when they are all put together. So it is with the 'body' of Christ." I Cor. 12:12

In a sense, the Body of Christ is like a great relay team. We all work together in our given are a of responsibility and giftings. While we may not be the "recognizable name" in this relay, it doesn't mean that we aren't important.

The Living Bible brings some renewed perspectives to this familiar scripture. Here's my favorite of the day: "And some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary. Yes, we are especially glad to have some parts that seem rather odd!" (I Cor. 12:22-23) Do you know any odd parts?

As we mature in Christ, we need to strengthen each element of DREAM. If you haven't learned already, one of the truths of growing in Christ is that we are never done. Even if we understand each of the principles of DREAM, and have read the Bible through, we can't just check it off our to-do list and then coast through life. We have to be continually strengthened in all areas.

Today's reading is to strengthen our resolve to live in "Relationships Devoted to Unity". Do you find there are individuals in your life who rub you the wrong way? Their personality grates on you, or it seems like you disagree with everything they say? Do you know that God put them in your life to complete his work in you? Do you know that He has a plan for that individual just like he has a plan for you?

Sometimes I struggle with my own concerns so much that it's easy to forget about God's plan for the people around me. I forget that the body would be incomplete without those "odd" parts. (The truth is, I'm probably the odd one!) Sometimes we may get frustrated with individuals who seem to distract from what we're trying to do. We forget that God is using that individual to make us better. We forget that we cannot function properly without their opposing view, or complementary giftings, or putting it more bluntly, the body can't function without that person that drives you nuts!

It's easy for us to read this chapter and say we "get it". Putting it into practice is a whole other issue. What did you see the last time you were walking through the hall at church? Did what you see describe I Corinthians 12:25? "This makes for happiness among the parts, so that the parts have the same care for each other that they do for themselves."

You may have passed by someone that made you uncomfortable. They seemed "odd". The tendency is to want to go to those who make you feel good about yourself when you talk to them. You may have been on a mission to get something done. The question is, did you walk through the hall with "the same care for others" that you have for yourself?

Put yourself in the shoes of the "outsider". The one who may feel a little "odd". What kind of impact would it make for you to take the time to speak with them, Listen to their story, Let them know that the Body welcomes them? If someone did that for you, don't you think that would make quite an impact?

Chuck Swindoll said once, "Christians are like porcupines on a cold winter night. They get cold, so they huddle together for warmth, until one pokes another, then they scatter for a while until they get cold again." So many times offenses in the body of Christ occur, and one porcupine is complaining about the quills of another, completely ignorant of their own quills.

We're all odd. We all have a different function in the body. Everyone is necessary. We have to "get over ourselves" and realize that God is working his plan in all of us. I Cor. 12:6 says, "There are many ways in which God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work in and through all of us who are his. The Holy Spirit displays God's power through each of us as a means of helping the entire church."

Remember you are no more important than anyone else. Some need to hear that. Others need to hear this: You are NO LESS important than anyone else. To live the Balanced Christian Life, we need to understand this! We need to find that balance point.

"if one part suffers, all parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored all the parts are glad." I Cor. 12:26.

Live today "especially glad to have some parts that seem rather odd!"

... and "Go Vikings!"

Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!

P Greg


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