In 1 Corinthians 12:14-27 Paul speaks of four members of the body; the foot, the hand, the ear and the eye. He relates these to the different members of the church, and draws out the fact that all members are needed for the Body of Christ to function.
In the Body of Christ some people are feet people. These are the people who move the church. They get us from point A to point B. They are the ones with the workhorse mentality that says no matter what we are going to get us where we need to go. They are the ones who are not afraid to get dirty to accomplish the task. It doesn’t matter if it is muddy, dusty, dirty or rocky they are determined that they are going to get the body to its destination. They may get hot, they may get sweaty, they may even get stinky, but they will do what needs to be done to get the church to where it needs to be.
Then there are hand people. They don’t like to get as dirty as feet people
They are more touchy feely people. They are the friendly and inviting. They are often more approachable than feet people;(That’s why we shake hands and not feet). They may not take you where you need to go, but they help you have fun on the way. They allow you to play the game,or hold the burger. They like to give pats on the back because they are encouragers. TThey make the trip enjoyable, more so than stinky feet people
Then you have the ear people. They are the listeners. They may not get involved directly, they just kind of hang out on the side. They are often compassionate, and caring. They want everything to be in harmony. Anything out of tune hurts them. They are the ones who always have an ear out for someone in trouble. They desire unity in the body.
Then there are the eye people. These people are detail oriented. They are the visionaries. These are the ones who see which way the body needs to go. They are planners. They are calculating. They are discerning
Unfortunately they can get tunnel vision, and get so focused on the plan that they forget to start the work.
Realizing that people are different, Paul points out that we can‘t function without all the parts. We can’t have a church full of feet people any more than we can have a church full of hand people.
Can you imagine a church that is only focused on the goal. All they care about is getting to the destination. And as a result they walk all over people to get there. They get to the goal and say, "We did it! We trampled everyone in the process, but we made it!" That isn’t God’s church
Or if everyone was a hand person. Where it's the friendliest church in the world, but we never go anywhere. We have fun, but we never make it to the destination. We haven’t accomplished anything, but we sure are having fun. The same with ear people, who would only be concerned with pleasing everyone else. Eye people who were so focused on vision and plans that they never accomplished the plan.
As a body, we need all parts working together. We need eye people that can see and plan. We need feet people that can walk out the plan. We need hand people that can make the journey fun. And we need ear people to keep us in harmony. That is the picture of God's church. A body tempered together into one unit capable of accomplishing great things for His kingdom.
Listen to the full message on the Media page: "The Body of Christ".
