| “And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you” (1 Corinthians 12:21). |
| “But God hath tempered [carefully arranged] the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked” (1 Corinthians 12:24). |
| Here the Apostle Paul talks about a problem that is opposite to the one about which we spoke yesterday. As we saw yesterday, sometimes there are those in the body of Christ who think they are so little and unimportant that they are no use to the body at all. But here in today’s verse we see how one part of the body can think that it is so important that it does not need the others. |
| The eye is a very complicated part of the body, and a very important one. Without sight, it is very difficult to lead a normal life. Many blind people do manage to lead very useful lives, and to have jobs that enable them to support themselves. I even knew of a medical doctor who was blind, and yet he saw patients, examined them, prescribed medication, and acted just the way any other doctor would. But of course there were some things he could not do without sight. |
| However, our second verse shows us that while some parts of the body are not seen, and are not so prominent, yet these parts of the body are absolutely essential. For example, we could live without our eyes, or our hearing, or even with only one arm or one leg. In fact, I have known people who lost both arms, or both legs, and yet survived. But we could not live without our liver, or our heart, or our lungs. No, if we were missing any one of these, our body would die. They are not seen, but they are necessary. |
| It is like this in the body of Christ. Sometimes those who do not seem so important are actually more necessary than those who are well-known. For this reason it is a big mistake for someone with a lot of knowledge of the Bible, or someone who has a real gift in doing something, to think that he is so important that he does not need the other members of the body. Every member is important, and every member is needed. We need to respect how that the Lord has “set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him” (1 Corinthians 12:18). |
