It's the Gift that Counts

Mark 10:35-45
1 Corinthians 12:12-26

Having particular gifts unique to us as individuals is a funny thing. For instance, I am not a handy man. In fact, I am downright mechanically inept. The only thing that maybe I can fix is dinner, and the jury is still out on that one! I’m also not a numbers kind of guy. I cannot do quick figures in my head; I always have to take the time to count. Yet my son – and I hope I don’t embarrass him by talking about him – can see numbers and tell if something is wrong, and he can figure pretty quickly in his head. He is also a man who loves to work with his hands and fix and build things. The “funny thing” about his particular gifts is that he obviously didn’t get them from his old man!

Somewhere along the way in his young life he has discovered his passion and his gift for doing such things and since ol’ dad was not much help, he had to figure it out as he went along. But as he was replacing our garbage disposal this past week, I was reminded of Paul’s words to the Corinthians about spiritual gifts and how he reminds us that we are unique not necessarily because we choose to be but because it is all part of the wonderment of the Lord’s creative handiwork.

Paul reminds the Church in Corinth that these gifts that are unique to us as individuals are not so that we can amuse ourselves or show off for others or even to earn a living, though we do have to support ourselves. Rather, the gifts are granted to us as the CHURCH has need because if the Church does not or cannot function as Christ intended, then we have been reduced to nothing more than a social club of like-minded individuals who gather in a common place once a week. My dear friends, there are dozens of secular clubs that do this. The only thing that distinguishes one from another is the purpose they intend to serve as a group.

The Church as Christ intended, however, is much more than this. If we are to call ourselves a “church”, then we must begin to think of ourselves as a single body made up of, as Paul says, many different parts with each having its own unique function. And not just a “body” but THE Body … of CHRIST.

What does it mean, then, that we would accept this challenge and seek to distinguish ourselves in such a way that when someone enters into this building, they experience Christ Himself? What must we do so that upon walking through the door, a visitor might think “sanctuary” with a sense of relief that only Christ can provide? What do we do beyond having a sign out in the yard that identifies us as the “Body of Christ”? And perhaps more importantly, how do we distinguish ourselves as the Body of Christ outside these doors?

In Mark 10:35-45, it is recorded that James and John come to Jesus and ask that they be granted the special privilege of being placed on Jesus’ right and on His left; they want their own special places of power within Jesus’ kingdom. Of course they cannot be aware of the full measure of this privilege for which they ask, and Jesus is quick to point that out. Oddly, however, Jesus also removes Himself from responsibility for making such a choice among men, even among His own disciples.

Notice the response of the other ten disciples when James and John tried to elbow their way into a place of prominence with Jesus. “They became indignant”, as it is written. A division amongst those who are supposed to be united in Christ’s purpose was about to occur because man was looking to protect and promote himself and maybe establish his own “turf” within Christ’s body. Not good, and Jesus points this out to them by reminding them of the Gentiles who have places of prominence and seek to lord it over the people.

“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:43-45

The mindset that these brothers have is part of what blurs the line of distinction between what we are supposed to look like as a church – as the Body of Christ - and what secular social and civic clubs actually look like. Even though these clubs exist to serve a particular function within their communities, the truth is that membership in these clubs – and certain leadership positions within these clubs – looks pretty good on a resume, and the one who holds the gavel is the one who can call the shots. And these clubs are for the most part self-serving even though they seek to do good within their communities.

I am aware that this happens in churches as well, but it must not be so because I am also of the opinion that it is at this point when the church is in danger of losing its identity as Christ’s body and even jeopardizes its own moral authority when individual members refuse to work with one another and work instead toward achieving their own individual visions and goals.

Notice that throughout Jesus’ life on this earth, His ministry was never about Himself. He did His greatest works for the sake of the faithful and to the glory of the Lord God, and it is that many came to believe by watching the “BODY OF CHRIST” function as the Lord God intended it to.

As a gathering of believers, it must necessarily be that we seek only what Christ would ask of us even if we may not like the answer. We may want to do one thing, but Jesus may call us to do another or two or more. And the only way we will be successful in such an endeavor is if we are keenly aware of Christ’s presence and will among us. Otherwise, we would be nothing more than a ship without a rudder but a full sail: going wherever the winds take us but with no genuine sense of purpose.

It is not about making members and growing our little church. It is about making disciples and growing Christ’s Holy Church. When it ceases to be exclusively about Christ, the church ceases to exist.