Body of Christ

Lessons From my Washburn (guitar)

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments 
So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: Romans 12:5-6 a NKJV

I always look forward to the insights that Beth Allison shares over on her blog Lessons From a Lab I, on the other hand get to learn a few things from my Washburn. Now I freely admit that the photos Beth shares of her doggie friends, Adi and Summer are far cuter, than my guitar, but God uses what we each of have to teach us His truth, and it was kind of neat how changing and tuning six strings yesterday reminded me of today’s verse.

First, every string is different. Each of us requires our own individual amount of tension if we are going to sound our note. When we go around expecting others to be singing the same as us, we will not only be sorely disappointed, but we will also miss out on enjoying being ourselves. Some folks are low and slow, like Brother Low E, and others are temperamental and creative like the Mr. B-string, (whose soulful pitch sounds wonderful but goes out of tune the fastest!)

Secondly, each string has its own time and place to be playing during the song. Sometimes the lower strings remain silent, while the highest notes are trilling away, and yet they cannot leave the fretboard in a huff, demanding more attention. They must patiently wait their turn to become the baseline, that will help me to transition from the verse to the chorus. Yes, there are happy tunes when everyone gets to alternate in upbeat joyful praise, but best of all, are the moments when they join together in a final harmonic ring!

Last, I learned that the place assigned by the world to my strings is the exact opposite of how I relate to them. You see, Brother E, who is my lowest note is called my sixth string, and High E, who is his little sister, is called first. Though she may put on airs, when others call her the finest string of all, I would remind her that, from the musician’s point of view, it is the lowest string who is closest to me and nearest to my heart. But whether we are first or last, the most wonderful thing is that we are all his instrument, who He created and tuned to play a song of praise to Him today and forever!

Time to Bloom

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 1 Corinthians 12:18 ESV

Once we were edging and weeding several hundred feet of perennial beds on a large estate, in preparation for the owner’s weekend visit. On the crew that day, we had a new employee named Waldemar. So as not to overtax him, I started Waldemar on a stretch of the bed which only needed some light weeding. After working on the other side of the house for an hour, I came back to check on my new friend and found to my dismay that he had not only pulled out every single weed, but he had also taken out all the primroses which were just beginning to pop out of the ground. “Waldemar, where are the flowers?” I asked. My poor friend stopped what he was doing and glanced back along the empty bed with a bewildered look.

“Just because they aren’t blooming yet, doesn’t mean they aren’t flowers.” I explained

Looking back, I can see that I should have spent more time training and I had forgotten how many years it took for me to learn which were the weeds and which the flowers. The church is a lot like that perennial garden. Just as in today’s verse, God has planted each of us where He designed and each of us blooms in our own season. While we are just beginning to grow, we might not look much different than the weeds. So, let’s be careful this week in how we treat others. Every part of God’s garden has something growing, and even flowers that have finished blooming still have value. Some older plants with only green leaves give a nice backdrop to the younger blossoms that are just opening. Others, even with only wilted tops, give quiet example as they simply rest, knowing that surely one day it will be Springtime again!

I hope you like today’s video that tells the story as well as includes the hymn “In the Garden” (It’s my favorite!) I was so blessed to have a new volunteer come along with me this week to visit my Thursday morning memory care friends.

God’s Littlest Toes

/ pastorpete51 / 11 Comments

 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Romans 12:5 KJV

If we were asked to pick one single member of our body that we would miss the least, many would answer, our little toe. After all that toe is not only very small but probably no one would even notice. But not long ago I had a revelation about its value when that toe met the leg of our kitchen table. First came the pain that made me sit down for several minutes until my head cleared. My brain didn’t care about my strong hands, smooth biceps or well combed hair. All I could focus on was just exactly how much I loved my toe!

The same is true in God’s body called the church. You see, not only was I in pain on the day when I broke my toe, but it affected every part of my life. My morning walk was transformed into a morning hobble to the coffee pot. Our seat towards the front of the church was traded for one nearest the door. Over those six weeks, a walk on the beach or working in my garden were both definitely out. Even getting my shoes off and on was a delicate task. Slowly I learned that humility is the first step towards appreciation. Maybe there are members, not only of our body, but also of our church or our own family whom we are just taking for granted. Maybe we are overlooking their value because we haven’t slowed down enough to notice them. But we are all noticed by Jesus Christ. Let’s not wait for even one of them to be broken before we learn to treat them with respect! After all even God’s littlest toes were loved so much by Jesus that He gave not only His love and but also His life for ours!