"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many" (1 Corinthians 12:12-14 NIV).
My husband gave me the priceless (no matter what he says) gift of a laptop. No more going to the frigid basement to word process. Now in the halcyon of my post-desktop computer days, I'm snuggled on the couch with a blanket, coffee and thoughts. Ah, the bliss.
Imagine my annoyance when the letter U on my keyboard began sticking. I found myself writing emails such as:
Dear Sam, My Generos Hsband,
What's p with yo?
Yor Faithfl Wife,
Lisa
I circumvented the annoyance by relying on the spell checker. After all, "U" is the least used regular vowel, so the changes were minimal. This worked well until I received an email from a friend who asked, "Who's Jess Christ?" Apparently, I had sent out an email in His name — to a lot of people. The letter "U" may not be seen as often as an "A" or an "I," but its absence proved embarrassing, just as the absence of a smaller article of clothing might prove embarrassing under a certain set of circumstances.
It's easy to overlook components that don't have an outwardly readily recognizable role. It's easy to overlook parts that serve with understatement. But in the body of letters, every "J," "V," and "U" has its place and does its job just as every toe, elbow, and Achilles heel has its place and does its job in the body of Christ.
We can't all be ministry staff and worship leaders — for one thing, some of us can't sing. Yet there are many beautiful and vital parts of the body. The hands that prepare food for the sick or gather clothes for the homeless are lovely. The faithful men who provide for their families by persevering in jobs they wouldn't choose if given a choice are men of godly character. The faithful women who find themselves in circumstances they never could have imagined, but nonetheless, remain obedient to the Father are women of godly character. It takes a variety of Christians to build a strong, universal church body — one that reflects the glory and grace of Jesus Christ.
So here is a salUte to "U" — for each of Us who has the seemingly minuscUle, bUt absolUtely crUcial role of illUminating the trUth and love of JesUs Christ jUst by living obedient and beaUtifUl lives and commUnicating His love and trUth to every hUman being we encoUnter.
The sticky "U" situation also reminded me not to rely upon the unreliable, over-lauded spell-checkers and other devices of man. In the future, I'll stick to "Jess" alone.
