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Household Body

foot In the Household of Faith, various parts perform different functions in order to make the whole operate efficiently. A foot as the structural support to a leg differs from a hand or an ear. A hand may be able to manipulate a small delicate object like a pair of tweezers but it cannot hold up the weight of the whole body for any extended period of time. An athlete may work the pommel horse, swinging her body in ever widening sweeps, all supported on her hands. How glad those wrists and fingers are to exit the performance and return to their normal duties without all that weight and stress! Together, the parts of the Household of Faith, even though they are radically different, become one.

Unassuming Roles

The Human Ear The role of some members of the Household of Faith may not be apparent at first. Ears are not particularly impressive, but their job is vital to the body. They are not as strong as feet or as active as arms or fingers! They may not move but they inform the brain what's going on around. They also give a torso its sense of balance. If the ears fail, a person loses balance, staggers and maybe falls. So ears are important members of the Household of Faith.

Cooperate as One

Blue Colored Eye The various parts of the Household cooperate as one. Jane as an ear in the Body of Christ is a very thoughtful person who always makes a positive contribution. Her skillful listening and attentive hearing help settle disputes between others. John as a hand is quite different. He is a doer rather than a talker in the Household Body. He responds generously and quickly to another's needs; mending a washing machine or carrying a bag of food to a needy family. God uses the differences between Jane and John to complete his work.

Different Organs or Limbs

hand All Christians represent a different organ or limb in the Mystical Body. Adrian Plass humorously considers this thought in his "Sacred Diary." "Anne started by saying that she thought she was probably a bit of dried skin on the elbow, but Edwin, bless him, said that he thought she was much nearer the heart than that.. Thynn said he was a left shoulder blade for some obscure reason, and Norma Twill said she thought she might be a dimple. Couldn't think what I was, and dismissed Thynn's assessment of me as a small, unimportant vein in the right foot."¹

Actual Discipleship

Jesus Actual discipleship is logically and biblically the only sure sign of membership in the Household of Faith. Separation from Jesus, the supportive head, is always a dangerous possibility for the proud and disobedient limb. Paul warns of one such person in the Colossian church, "He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow."²

How interchangeable are the parts of the Body of Christ in your Household of Faith?

¹Adrian Plass "Sacred Diary" ²Colossians 2.19.

"You are the Body of Christ and each one is a part of her."

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