"The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it.(a)"
The other day, my family and I were having a Bible study on the topic of the Church. As we were reading the scripture, I was trying to find a way to explain these concepts to my eight year old.
Recently, on Netflix they added Voltron, which is a show I watched religiously as a child. If you are not familiar, it is a Japanese animation show based on a futuristic galaxy where its guardian is a giant robot composed of five robotic lions joined together with humans inside operating each lion while connected to each other in order to form the whole robot. Sounds complicated.
Anyway, this concept reminded me of the church. Alone, we can do many things to protect and further the Kingdom of God, but together as one, we can fight back the powers of evil and radically bring about the Kingdom of God.
As Paul describes to the Corinthian church, it is not important your nationality or your particular gifting. Without each other, we are no longer considered the Body of Christ, we are simply just parts that will soon die if we cease from being connected.
I can just hear people talk about the Church of Jesus this way:
"From days of long ago, from uncharted regions of the universe, comes a legend; the legend of Voltron, Defender of the Universe, a mighty robot, loved by good, feared by evil. As Voltron's legend grew, peace settled across the galaxy. On Planet Earth, a Galaxy Alliance was formed. Together with the good planets of the solar system, they maintained peace throughout the universe, until a new horrible menace threatened the galaxy. Voltron was needed once more. This is the story of the super force of space explorers, specially trained and sent by the Alliance to bring back Voltron, Defender of the Universe!"
Wow! What would people say if God's people functioned individually but only when they came together could they be world changing. Anytime evil reared it's ugly head, I could almost imagine Jesus sounding a bit like one of the characters, Keith:
"Form feet and legs; form arms and body; and I'll form the head!"
