Daily Bread

July 8, 2018

Many Gifts, One Purpose

Keila Ochoa

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12

1 Corinthians 12:4-14

Job 36-37; Acts 15:22-41

Corn, also called maize, is the staple food in my home country of Mexico. There are so many different types. You can find yellow, brown, red, and black cobs, even ones with a wonderful spotted pattern. But people in the cities usually won't eat the spotted cobs. Restaurateur and researcher Amado Ramírez explains that they believe uniformity is a synonym of quality. Yet the spotted cobs taste good, and they make excellent tortillas.

The church of Christ is much more similar to a spotted ear of corn than to a cob of just one color. The apostle Paul used the imagery of a body to describe the church, because even though we are all one body, and we have the same God, each of us has been given a different gift. As Paul said, "There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work" (1 Corinthians 12:5-6). Our diversity in the ways we help each other shows God's generosity and creativity.

As we embrace our diversity, may we also make every effort to keep our unity in faith and purpose. Yes, we have different abilities and backgrounds. We speak different languages and come from different countries. But we have the same wonderful God, the Creator who delights in so much variety.

Father, may we make every effort to be one, respecting and valuing each other and our various gifts and talents.

We need one another in order to be what God wants us to be.