Is It a Cow or What?
Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>
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COLUMN: FIELD NOTES
Is It a Cow or What?
by Michael E. Brooks
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"For as the body is one and has many members, but all
the members of that one body, being many, are one body,
so also is Christ. . . . For in fact the body is not
one member but many" (1 Corinthians 12:12, 14 NKJV).
One of the pleasures of traveling to many distant
places that I enjoy is that I get to see a lot of
different things. These include different geographical
features, cultures, man-made attractions, and (perhaps
my favorite) different animals. I don't see many water
buffalo in Alabama, nor do I get to see yak very often
(yes, there really is such a creature).
On a recent trip to the mountains of Nepal I saw a man
milking his yaks. It was not much different than
milking cows, but still, that was a first. Yaks look a
lot like cattle - just more hair and a different tail -
but they are not cows, and that matters. Those few
unique features not only define a separate species, but
it also allows for special uses (carrying loads over
high and steep mountains, for example) to which those
particular animals are put.
It is important as well for us as humans to recognize
that each one is unique. No one else shares the same
DNA; no one else has quite the same collection of
talents, experiences, resources, and opportunities.
Paul discusses this fact in reference to the church
that Jesus established. It is his body (Ephesians 1:22-
23), and it is comprised of many members. Each member
of the church, like each part of the human body, has
its own characteristics and its own function.
Those unique features create a need and value for every
follower of Christ. "If the whole body were an eye,
where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing,
where would be the smelling" (1 Corinthians 12:17)? In
another passage he teaches that the body is "joined and
knit together by what every joint supplies, according
to the effective working by which every part does its
share" (Ephesians 4:16).
No one is unimportant. Each Christian has a role to
fulfill and tasks to perform. Christ would no more
desire to dismiss one of his followers than we would
choose to cut off some part of our bodies. Yes, disease
may make such surgery necessary on occasion, but it is
always to be avoided if possible. This is true
spiritually as well as physically.
Our human tendency is to shun differences. This is a
root of racial prejudice. It is also a cause of much
division in churches. We like people around us with
whom we share common features, whether they be racial,
linguistic, nationality, or simply interests and
customs.
Scripture encourages us to embrace differences,
welcoming others who are unlike us, so that we may be
strengthened by their contributions. Let each part do
their share, so that the whole body might be built up
and improved. After all, "If the whole body were an
eye, where would be the hearing?"
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