1 Corinthians 12:22-24 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked.
In a world where a life doesn’t seem to have much value, we need to gain God’s perspective on what is needful for us today. The passage of Scripture above gives us God’s opinion on who is important and how we need to place value on one another. In the context of this passage, it is speaking of the body of Christ, the church. In the church there are different offices and positions that need to be filled. Every member of the church has value and is needed, not just a chosen few.
As an Evangelist, God has blessed my wife and me with the privilege to travel and visit many different churches. Some large and some very small and every size in between. Each church is important to those that attend them, no matter the size. The people all come to be fed from the Word of God and to work together to reach out to their communities. Many of these churches have people with special needs in them, some children, some adults, these are precious souls that each church is trying to meet their needs. In each one of those churches there seems to be a special spirit, a spirit of caring and love.
The Bible tells us that those members of the body that seem the most feeble are necessary. You see, Jesus died for them the same way He died for everyone else. He put a high premium on all of mankind. However, those “feeble” folks, when given the chance, add so much to a church. Many people would discount their value to their organization. It is true, they may not be able to put much in an offering plate, or be able to help build the next addition to the building, but they can give new perspective to life, a love and a joy not found in many people! They may not possess much physical strength, however they have the inner strength of a lion!! That is why the Bible says, they should be given abundant honor.
Our son Johnny outwardly was very weak, he had many physical problems, he was deaf, he was only 4’6″ tall at 28 years old and weighed 97 pounds with his leg braces on. To look on his outward appearance he didn’t seem to have much to offer, but he enriched the lives of countless numbers of people.
We need to be careful not to judge a book by it’s cover. People with special needs are necessary in our lives, they are teachers sent to us from God, to encourage and give us proper perspective on life. They have great value to God and to all of those that would take the time to get to know them.
May God help us to see others as He sees them today.