A Jumble of Pieces

Scrabble- one of the most well-known word games of its day... in my house, it is definitely on top of the list of "most-played." I find a strange enjoyment in creating words. Taking a individual letter and adding other little lone letters to create a word doesn't sound like much fun, but it is! Without every little letter in its certain little spot, the word would only be a jumble of vowels and consonants, with no meaning. Take the word Genuine, for example. Remove the E's and you have gnuin. Remove the N's and and you have geuie. You get my point. Each and every letter plays a little part to make a grand result. Hopefully you see where I'm going with this.

1st Corinthians 12:12, "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." Continuing on in this passage of scripture, Paul describes the importance of every single part of the "body." (The Hebrew word for body here is soma, meaning "united into one society, or family as it were; a social, ethical, mystical body united in a common goal.") Without the ears, one cannot hear. Without the tongue, one cannot speak. Without the eyes, one cannot see. Without the arms, one cannot feel. Without any of these essential parts of the body, we cannot operate as the whole being without adapting to our handicaps. Consider for a moment not having a leg. How effectively would you run a marathon with only one leg? Just like each and every little letter in Scrabble has such a great importance in creating a word, each portion and member of the body of Christ is needed to further God's Kingdom.

"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?" (1 Corinthians 12:27-30) Because there is not, has never been, and never will be one person alike on the face of the earth, we should realize our worth, our uniqueness, and find our places in the big picture. God has enabled each of us our own gifts, whether big or small. Let's go back to Scrabble for a moment. Sometimes we may only feel like an awkward Q, only able to use our abilities teamed with others scarcely. Other times we may feel like the A, using our abilities left and right, being a detrimental part. But think of what Quaint would be without the q. Uaint. (Sounds like something you would hear down south... Just kidding.) Likewise, we each play an important part. We're all little letters on the big game board of life. Whether we each stand for a different letter, H, C, R, T, S, or I, put us all together and we spell Christ.