Who Am I? I am an Invaluable Part of the Body of Christ.
“For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” – Romans 12:4-5
Leaders naturally desire more influence. In fact, there are many leaders who begin each day praying a prayer like that of Jabez when he asked God to “enlarge my territory.” (1 Chronicles 4:10) Leaders certainly should be driven to increase their influence for the sake of reaching more with the Gospel. But if we are not careful, that desire for more influence can evolve into something unhealthy. It can become a desire for someone else’s ministry and giftedness. This can lead to a form of “spiritual jealousy” that seems admirable, but can render us ineffective as Christian leaders.
It is easy to see the ministry of someone like Billy Graham and desire that for yourself. But don’t forget the reality that if God wanted you to be Billy Graham, he would have made you Billy Graham. God doesn’t want you to be anyone other than you. In fact, “God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.” (1 Corinthians 12:18) And all of these members purposely do not have the same function.
No matter how insignificant or humble you may think your gifts are, the rest of the body depends on them. Consider this….If you remove your gifts from the body, the whole body of Christ suffers. God has uniquely gifted you to contribute to the body of Christ in ways that Billy Graham never could. There are people you can reach with the Gospel that your Pastor never could. God has given you a ministry that is markedly original.
Look at Romans 12:4-6 through the Message, “So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.” Go ahead and be what you were made to be today.
As you pray today, confess any “spiritual jealousy.” Thank God that He has uniquely gifted you to do what no one else in the body can. Ask God to help you increasingly embrace your significance as an invaluable part of the body of Christ.
*Devotion by Tripp Atkinson as it appears in Impact Student Leadership Devotional. To purchase, click here. For more thoughts on your unique ministry, click HERE.