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Body Building

by Jerry Ousley  
9/19/2009 / Christian Living

When I was a kid I made up my mind one day to begin a program of body building. In those days the man everyone envied was Mr. Atlas. He had a physic that made girls melt in their shoes and every boy I knew wanted to look like him. Muscles bulging from head to foot, Mr. Atlas was a man's man.

I listened intently to the TV as he told about what he ate and drank to give him the nourishment he needed to build strong muscles. My mind was focused as he told about his exercise program. I could do that! So I began. I did the exercises, improvising to accommodate for a skinny ten year old; I mixed up the energy drinks with what I could scrounge up (we were a poor family so I just had so much to work with) and drank them down - no matter how bad they tasted. I was determined that I was going to go back to school looking like Mr. Atlas. No more being made fun of because I was the skinny kid! No more getting pushed around on the playground. Those guys would respect me - I'd make sure of that.

By the end of the day I thought, maybe there was a little more muscle in my arm. But I was already sick and tired of those energy drinks and, man, I just needed some regular food. That was the end of that. I never in my life became a hunk (although now I can add a "C" to hunk and I come out as a chunk).

In 1 Corinthians 12 we read about another body; it's the Body of Christ. It isn't a body that can be readily seen with the human eye, but it is a very large and strong body. His body on earth is made up of thousands upon thousands of born again, children of God Christians those who have committed themselves to Jesus Christ, have asked for forgiveness of sin and have become new creations in Christ Jesus. Just like our own human bodies are made up of physical members, organs, and billions of cells, each having its own function, so each member of the Body of Christ has a function that is unique, important, and necessary. For instance, one of our members is called a foot. But when you look at the foot you see that it is also made up of unique members. It has toes, ankles, an arch, nails, and so on. Without any one of these members the foot doesn't function properly.

The New Testament outlines many gifts, some are supernatural gifts while some are special talents that define the way we communicate the Gospel. Each is very important. Every believer in Jesus Christ is given at least one of these gifts that define and separate them from the others. The Lord wants to use each one in the gifts He has given.

I believe that when we are born into this world that the Lord has already implanted these gifts in us. Each one of us has desires to express ourselves in artistic, mechanical, or communicational skills. To some those skills may be boring but not to the ones who possess them. These desires, hopes, and dreams are the roots and seed of the gifts God has given us. When we come to Christ He wants us to sharpen, hone, and enhance these skills and gifts to be used for His glory and to win others into the Body of Christ.

Just like a human body, when others choose to ignore their gifts, get jealous of the gifts of others, and refuse to use their gifts for the health of the body, then even though it is impaired, the body still functions. God wants us to take our place in the Body but if we don't, the Body will go on and do its job. In the example of the foot, if a toe is cut off, or the foot is injured, we normally find a way to get around. We may walk with a limp or even use a mechanical device to improvise for the loss, but we find a way. So it is with the Body of Christ.

For now remember that you are a member in particular a unique and special part of Christ's Body on earth. You are needed, and you are desired. You are important. But the choice to do your part in the Body is left to you. The Body will function and go on. But it is so much better when each of us finds our place to help build the Body of Christ.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

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