1 Corinthians 12:12 ESV – For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
Helen and I once traveled to Indiana to attend a funeral for one of her cousins. During the dinner following the memorial service we were served the most wonderful tasting potato salad that I had ever enjoyed. It was so very good that I wanted to seize the opportunity to ask for the recipe for the potato salad while we were still at the church.
Stepping into the kitchen the women became silent as their eyes turned towards me. In the tradition of the Old Order German Baptist Brethren, the kitchens are considered women’s territory; a territory which I had invaded. When one of the ladies asked if I needed anything I said that I was amazed by their potato salad and was wondering if it were possible to get the recipe. The request caused the women to break into laughter. As it turned out, when women brought potato salad for a church dinner, they dumped all of the different potato salads into a single massive bowl and stirred them all together. The flavor of the potato salad depended on the various recipes and talents of the several women who contributed to it.
Isn’t that how a church is made up? Every member brings their various mental, physical and spiritual gifts into the fold of the church and they are blended together to become a part of the body of the church.