This afternoon whilst playing with my nearly 6-month-old son, I was
leaning over him and he showed interest in the zip dangling from my jacket.
I stopped to see what he would do. He very slowly manoeuvred
his hand into position next to the zip and then I could see him trying to use
his thumb and forefinger to hold the zip. He was almost successful and
continued to try to do this for ten minutes, never quite getting there.
At times he would briefly wave his arms and kick his legs about in
frustration. Then he would stop to focus and have another go.
It was whilst my
son was doing this that I was reminded of an illustration that I’ve heard my
Dad use many times in devotions and sermons over the years. It is about
fingers and a thumb working together to pick up a ball. Have you ever
tried to pick up a ball with just your thumb? Or just one finger?
Maybe you’ve tried with two fingers; it’s still difficult to do depending
on the size of the ball. The task is completed much more easily when the
fingers and thumb work together to pick up the ball.
It’s a bit like the
passage in 1 Corinthians 12, where Paul talks about how the body of Christ, the
Church, is one body made up of many members; we cannot say that we don’t need
each other, because we do need each other.
Watching my son’s
little fingers learning to grasp at a zip reminded me that while we as Christians
may be one body in Christ – the Church – it takes time to learn to work
together. Oh yes, there’ll be a lot of frustration and effort required
along the way! It also requires dropping our pride and checking our own
ambition. But the reward is rich if we take the time to learn the nuances
of the God-given personality and gifting of other members of His body and learn
to work together.
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Sarah Wickham first
clapped eyes on her then future husband, Steve, and his three daughters while
studying her Master of Divinity at Vose Seminary. Sarah has been a Town
Planner, Youth Pastor and Photographer. She is now a full-time Mum to Ethan,
dabbling in photography occasionally and supporting her husband’s family
and ministry.
© 2013 Sarah J.
Wickham.
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