It’s probably been awhile since you’ve given much thought about your pinky toe.  My wife, Christin, was the same way until recently when she broke her toe in a household accident!  Suddenly, that pinky toe got lots of attention!  She never realized how much she used it and needed it until it was injured.  Thankfully, her toe is now healed, and she can use it normally again, but her experience reminded me of what Paul wrote about the body of Christ.

“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, so also is Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12, NKJV).  Just as every part of our physical bodies are essential for different purposes, every believer has important and unique roles to play in completing the body of Christ.  “If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing?  If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling?” Paul asked (v. 17).  “But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased” (v. 18).  We all, with different personalities and abilities, need to embrace our positions in the body of Christ by fully utilizing the gifts God has given us.

Perhaps you feel like you don’t have anything to offer, but that is simply not true. Romans 12:6 explains, “God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well” (NLT).  Your gift could be the special ability to encourage others, or perhaps God has blessed you with the financial means to help those in need.  Maybe, you’re the artistic type.  Whatever your talent is, God wants you to use it for His glory.  You may feel like your gift is nothing spectacular, but in reality, it is crucial to the fulfillment of God’s plan.  As we seek God, He will show us how to use our gifts in ways that will truly benefit others, and He will open the doors for us to do so.

It is vital for us to realize that we need each other!  Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend” (NKJV).  I’ve been writing lately about how to stay encouraged in the Lord, and one of the most helpful and practical ways to do that is to simply spend time with other believers.  The writer of Hebrews exhorted, “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another” (10:24-25, NLT).  Indeed, regular fellowship with other Christians helps to keep us motivated to follow God’s plan!

It’s true that you need others, and others need you.  So, take time to be with other believers.  You’ll be glad you did!