Daily Devotions
Parts With Purpose
Title: Parts With Purpose
By Joshua Carter
Reading for June 29: Psalms 141-150
Weekly reading for June 24-30: 1 Corinthians 12-16
What do you hope to accomplish in the local church that you’re a part of? Does “accomplish” sound strange to you? Then consider this. How has God empowered you, as an individual? Do you have the ability to understand complex information and teach it in an understandable way? Are you able to organize an effort and lead people? Are you a natural encourager who your friends know they can talk to (and know you’ll listen)? Are you the kind of person who can inspire and motivate others who are struggling?
If you have any of these or other abilities, then it should be self-evident that you have something to accomplish in the local church that you’re a part of. Paul made this point to a group of saints in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7.
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
We understand this concept when we consider our own bodies. Our feet are present for accomplishing movement. Our ears are present for accomplishing hearing. Our eyebrows are present for accomplishing the redirection of sweat that might get into our eyes. Each part is the way it is and where it is for the purpose of accomplishing something for the common good of the body.
You might think you don’t have much to offer. That’s fine. “The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable” (v.22). What exactly you are capable of doing for the body is only fully known to you and to God. But since “God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose” (v.18), you do have a purpose to accomplish, wherever you may be. Don’t be afraid to try. Hands only become skilled with practice.
As long as the Lord’s body is here on earth and there is work to do, let me just tell you as a fellow member of it, “I need you” (v.21).
Father, thank you for composing the body with the wisdom that you have. Thank you for all the members of it, who have been given different roles and abilities. Help each one of us to use the talents we’ve been given to their fullest potential as we serve you and serve each other.
