This song by Rick Pino has been going through my mind today, here are the lyrics: "stick your tongue out like when you were a child, cause it's raining. Stop trying to be the next who's who....only try to be the next you. Stop trying to be the next who's who...only try to be the next you. He loves me like I am, He loves me like I am. He loves like I am....repeat....come and see my ministry you don't care about your Father's will just if you'll be on TV. Your gift can move the body and your gift can move the soul, but their spirit stays dry as a bone - too concerned about what other people think and you're not concerned enough about what your Daddy thinks. You've got all the right words and all the right songs, but He'll even take you with your poopy diaper on. I could be the biggest mess in the world it doesn't change His love for me.
Today I read in Phillipians 3- as Paul wrote about that if anyone were to have confidence in the flesh, he did. I stopped to think, what are the things that bring significance- my job, my home, my car, my relationships- and Paul talks about how we are not to have confidence in the flesh, but in Christ- that everything else loses its signficance when compared with Christ. As we in America and probably around the world try to find identity- we try to find it in things that were never intended to define us. To be defined by being found in Him is a profound and glorious thought! To be holy and blameless, to be His beloved, His creation, that He is our helper- that He has created us to be a beautiful part in His body. There is no way that one person can be the whole body- that is Christ.
As I was reading tonight in the Master Plan of Evangelism: Robert Coleman states, "The fact that there is no record in the disciples complaining about the pre-eminence of the three (Peter, James & John), though they did murmur about other things, is proof that where preference is shown in the right spirit and for the right reason offence need not arise. " Henry Latham suggests that the selection of these three served to impress the whole company the need for 'self abnegation' (to deny oneself- had to look that one up). In his analysis it was actually intended to show the apostles that 'Christ gave what charge He would to whom He would; that in God's service it is an honor enough to be employed at all; and that no man is to be discouraged because he sees allotted to another what appears to be a higher sphere of work than his own.'"
So Lord, teach us who You have made us in the body- and encourage those other parts- and see that each of our parts are important in the unity of Your body!
