“Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”
On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment.
But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.”
1 Corinthians 12:15-25 NIV

I read a quote yesterday on twitter from the ‘Slow Church’ book/movement that said, “The people God gathers in a place are uniquely gifted to embody in that place the good news of Jesus.” And that was just a simple restatement of what we find here in 1 Corinthians 12. Sometimes the temptation is to look for the ‘right person’ outside of your existing congregation to help fulfill an acknowledged need. We want to find the people that require no work, no discipleship and no effort that we can just plug into a position and let them run. Occasionally, God does need to bring a new person with a new skill set into a congregation to accomplish whatever it is He wants to accomplish. But it is also just as likely that the person you’re looking for is already there, you simply need to take time with them, invest in them and help grow them into that work and service with you.

When Jesus went to the synagogue and the man with the withered arm was there, He didn’t tell him to go somewhere else, to acquire other help, to study up first and show some effort before He would consider healing him. No. Jesus saw a need and He healed the withered hand that was holding the man back from being productive. Maybe what we need to do is look for more people with withered hands. Looking for people who need to be loved on, poured into and raised up, we seek restoration for the body and wholeness for an individual.

Is it easy? Not usually.
Is it quickly done? Not by most standards, no.
It is worthwhile? Absolutely.

God places the parts. We cannot look at the arm we’ve been given and wish for a new arm to just show up. We work with what has been given to us, and know that God is growing all of us through that process together. Some are encouragers for growth, others are enablers for growth, others still are stabilizers for growth…all working together to raise up an individual to their full potential in Christ.

Frustration comes when we don’t want to make the effort, and when we become dissatisfied with the people God has surrounded us with and we don’t seek His help, wisdom, guidance and strength to be an agent of change and growth in their lives.

GoLove someone, build them up. Help show them what Christ can do in them and how they can do the same for others. It’s called disciple making, and it’s part of what we do.