If you have friends or family that enjoy gathering for special occasions you have probably heard the question, “What are you bringing?”, at one time or another. This past Sunday our pastor was telling a story, using it as an object lesson. I must admit the story has remained with me all week and inspired this blog. He told how a family member had contacted him and asked him to bring buns to the next family reunion. That was his job. Bring the buns. Simple. While he felt okay with that he remarked, “Buns? Well that doesn’t seem important.” He wasn’t asked to bring anything else. Just…buns. Now, here’s the kicker, he was asked to bring them for everyone. He has a large family so, while that would be a lot of dough (both figuratively and literally) he still didn’t see very much importance in what he was bringing. As he showed up he saw another family member manning the grill and cooking a pig. In his opinion, this seemed a more worthy offering to bring for everyone but, as he had been asked, he brought the buns. He continued telling the story of arriving and watching as everyone brought their assigned item and by the end of the day everyone was full and happy as they sat around and enjoyed each others company. Everyone had pulled together, brought their item, and it formed a complete and fulfilling meal for everyone in attendance.
While my pastor admitted his item didn’t seem like much by itself, when everyone put their items together it formed an entire meal for all in attendance. Had he chosen not to bring the buns, it would not have stopped the gathering though, admittedly the meal most likely would not have been as fulfilling. Common sense tells you it’s hard to pile chili on top of a hot dog wiener. If the person assigned to bring the plates and napkins had not done their job, well, that meal would have been a mess. They could have used their hands or eaten straight from the containers but the meal would have been a little less sanitary. During his story my mind began wandering (sorry, pastor) and I was reminded of a portion of scripture. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 reminds us (it is a little lengthy, just a warning, but it’s worth the read):
12 There is one body. But it has many parts. Even though it has many parts, they make up one body. It is the same with Christ. 13 We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit into one body. It didn’t matter whether we were Jews or Greeks, slaves or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink. 14 The body is not made up of just one part. It has many parts. 15 Suppose the foot says, “I am not a hand. So I don’t belong to the body.” It is still part of the body. 16 And suppose the ear says, “I am not an eye. So I don’t belong to the body.” It is still part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how could it smell? 18 God has placed each part in the body just as he wanted it to be. 19 If all the parts were the same, how could there be a body? 20 As it is, there are many parts. But there is only one body.
21 The eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 In fact, it is just the opposite. The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are the ones we can’t do without. 23 The parts that we think are less important we treat with special honor. The private parts aren’t shown. But they are treated with special care. 24 The parts that can be shown don’t need special care. But God has joined together all the parts of the body. And he has given more honor to the parts that didn’t have any. 25 In that way, the parts of the body will not take sides. All of them will take care of each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part shares in its joy. 27 You are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it.
I understand what my pastor was talking about. And if you’re willing to admit it, you’ve been there yourself. Some times we don’t feel like we have much to offer. Sometimes we don’t feel that our ‘offering’ is worthy by most standards. So, rather than share, we decide to withhold it or bury it (refer to the Parable of the Talents –Matthew 25:14-30). Even worse, sometimes we feel like our offering is better or more worthy so we discount the offerings of others and push ourselves to the front as if we’re more important. There is a lot to be learned from these portions of scripture but I’ll try to keep it short. God had gifted everyone with specific talents/giftings/anointings. Regardless of whether you’re leading at the front or supporting from behind the scenes, your offering IS worthy……and NEEDED!!! We are the body though we are MANY parts. Not only in the local church, but the body of Christ as a whole. In this local church I am a neck. I support my pastor (the head) and help him fulfill his vision. In the state of SC I may serve a smaller, somewhat insignificant purpose. As a Christian in the United States or even the world I may have a seemingly even smaller purpose. The point is this….no matter the size of the offering or the level on which you serve, your offering is worthy, needed, and necessary. No matter the denomination you are a part of we are ALL still serving the SAME GOD and attempting to fulfill the same mandate (a.k.a. the Great Commission). You can disagree with the way I do things but it doesn’t give you the right to discount my offering, and vice versa.
We ALL have something to offer the kingdom of God. Your offering is important. If you choose to hide or bury it you’re hurting everyone. I can function with a broken arm but it will put more stress on the other parts of the body to function in the place of that broken arm to continue to fulfill the duties before me. The body of Christ can continue on without you but we’re not complete until you bring YOUR offering—and I hope you’ve realized by now I’m not referring to money—though that helps sometimes too, HA!!!! We’re all a part of a MUCH bigger picture. Stop staring so hard as your little 25 piece puzzle. If you’ll back up and refocus you’ll realize your little puzzle is a part of a MUCH BIGGER work of art. If you’re missing a piece of a puzzle, it will be forever incomplete. Get involved. Do your part. No matter how big or how small, it’s ALL important. I end with a question…………..what are YOU bringing?!?