one of the dangers of strength…

my weakness causes me to value others.  

one of the dangers of strength is that it breeds an independent spirit.  if i don’t have any weaknesses in my life, i tend to think, “i don’t need anybody!”  i don’t need to be in a small group.  i don’t need any close relationships.  i don’t need you.  i’ve got it all together.”  but GOD made us to value each other.  HE wants us to value each other.  so nobody gets all the gifts.  nobody gets all the pieces of the puzzle.  you need other people to complete the puzzle in your life. 

one of the biggest lies in our society is that significance is the same thing as prominence but it’s not.  significance is not prominence.  in our society, we tend to think if you’re well known then what you have to say is very important.  but you can be a celebrity and be living a totally trivial life.  just because you’re well known or prominent does not mean you’re important in the whole scheme of life.  a celebrity is not necessarily a hero.  too often we confuse that in our society.  we think if you’re well known then you’re a hero.  no you’re not. 

on the body of bill williams, my nose is a prominent feature.  but it’s not very significant.  i could lose my nose and live the rest of my life  it’s prominent; it’s not significant.  on the other hand, there’s some things like a spleen, a liver, both kidneys.  they’re not seen, not prominent at all, but they’re far more significant.  i can’t live without those things.

the bible says in 1 corinthians 12.22 (lb), some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary.  that’s true in the body of CHRIST.  GOD allows each of us to have weaknesses, so that all the parts will recognize their need for each other.  verse 21 (lb), the hand can’t say to the foot, `i don’t need you.’  and the eye can’t say to the ear, `i don’t need you.’”  we need each other.  GOD allows us to have weaknesses so we see the value of other people. 

you make a strong rope, not by making one solid cord.  that breaks pretty easy.  you make a strong rope by putting a lot of strands together – a lot of strands of weak cords.  when you take a lot of weak cords and put them all together, you’ve got a pretty strong rope. 

you’re pretty weak and i’m pretty weak, but together we can do stuff that nobody thinks is possible otherwise.  that’s the value of unity.  that’s the value of church family.  a person without a church family is a weakling.  you don’t have any other support.  all you have is your part of the puzzle.  you don’t have all the other pieces.  i’m not talking about just coming to church, listening to the sermon and going on out.  i’m talking about getting involved, developing relationships, getting in a small group, so that when a crisis hits your life there’s somebody there to support you.  and you’re there to help others when they go through crisis.  because it’s inevitable.

just a thought from the front porch…