“So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” (v. 26)

Such is the reality of being the body together:

The Lord, by grace, has knitted us together. We, in Christ, are no longer mere individuals. We are a body—His body—and all of the members of that body belong to each other. This is, biblically speaking, the central metaphor for what it means to be a church.

Sometimes that’s easy. When the members of the body are well, whole, strong, and functioning, the body feels that. It walks in strength.

Then there are other times—when a member hurts, or when a member causes injury, or when a member needs rehabilitation—that the whole body limps because one part is limping. That’s not easy.

Whichever season your church’s body is in, you remain a vital part of it. Let your gifts shine when we are in stride. Use your gifts to hold onto those who are hurting. Whether it’s easy or not easy, you are needed.

— Tyler