Howdy. You know, I have a truism to give to all of you today.
Is that you never realize how important your toes are until you hurt them.
You don't realize, oh my word, how many times is there where it's like you're going along
and you manage to end up having that one pinky toe that just like off to the side, you know,
like you're walking through a doorway, like you've got flip flops on because you're going
to go to the beach and everything's great and you go through a door and that one pinky
toe just grabs the side of the door, right, oh, right there and you're like, pinky toe,
are you still on my foot? Are you still there? Okay, all right, good. And you're like, pinky
toe, this is going to hurt for a while. Okay, you even know, it's like, like maybe 10 seconds
until you really feel it. But then more than that is then you end up going to China for
a year and end up playing what ends up being the worst game of duck duck goose ever. And
you end up trying to run through a different doorway and instead of the pinky toe having
an issue, somehow it's your big toe that manages to take all of your weight and bang into the
doorway and break into two pieces off to the side there. I haven't played duck duck goose
since then. It's too dangerous apparently for me. And on top of that is like it took
that it took five days just to get insurance to say yes to getting it fixed. I have, it
was crazy. It's like just put it back in. And at that point though, is that a little
toe, you can just bandage it up. It's not a huge deal. You know, you can get through
and it'll heal. Not a big toe. Big toes, three months and you have to be off of that foot.
So there I was hobbling around China trying to get from place to place with one foot in
a soft cast everywhere that I went the whole time just that one little toe and every other
part of me seemed to be doing just fine. But because that one toe, the whole last three
months of my time in China was completely derailed. I had to teach classes with my foot
up. I had to get in taxis to try to go get some food. Wo yo, yega. And then would accidentally
start speaking in Spanish because I don't know that much Chinese and that doesn't help
by the way. But the thing is, is that one small part can make the huge difference to
the entire body, even when nothing else may think that they're feeling it. And isn't that
same thing true for the body of Christ? See, that's the thing about whenever we think about
the body of Christ and Ephesians four is that we take it for granted that yeah, we're all
part of the same body. But do we realize just why it is that it's important to point it
out? See, the thing is, is that when we end up realizing that oftentimes people get separated
from the body of Christ for various reasons. Maybe they felt that they were ridiculed or
pushed away. Maybe they felt isolated by something that had happened or maybe in other ways they
just never got a chance to use their gifts in a way that they thought was meaningful.
Why should I be there? I don't have anything to contribute. The thing is, is that there
are many reasons why we oftentimes feel isolated. But in reality is that we're all meant to
be important because we have one Lord, one faith, one baptism, not all not a whole bunch
of different sects or small groups that are meant to all do their own thing as if they're
completely separate. We're meant to be one unified body because it's better to be a part
of the community instead of thinking that our faith is somehow my own personal thing
which has never been what scripture has said. And now this is where I get to give my 30
second commercial for Rally Day later this month. We're going to be having a chance to
get together at 9.30 a.m. on a Sunday morning on August 25th because as we see in Ephesians
4, there are all sorts of gifts that different people have. Apostles, prophets, evangelists,
shepherds, teachers. Apostles being not just the strict sense where we understand the original
apostles that went to spread the church but also the idea of those who are trying to do
something new, something that maybe hasn't been done previously. We've got people who
are bringing back our Stephen Ministries that we had had before. We've got a group of people
that would like to get you signed up if you'd like to be ready to help after disasters and
maybe take care of things that may happen in a person's yard or at their home. But also
even Tracy wants us to get together and do something for Thanksgiving for the local community
and frankly that's something that we're looking to do. And on Rally Day we'd like to see if
we could recruit people. So I didn't tell her I was going to point her out. You're welcome.
That's what I do for people I care about. But with it is even those who are the prophets
is that oftentimes it's not just the pastor who's meant to speak truth into the world but
also that other people have you been taking the time to ask what is it that God's actually
saying not just in you but through you to other people. The evangelists, those who are meant
to be out in the world bringing the gospel to people that don't know. The shepherds,
those who are meant to bring care and love and compassion to people who are in need and to care
for their needs. Not just the pastor but others as well. Teachers, those who are meant to go out
there because one person is not supposed to be the whole arbiter of learning and truth. We need
all of us together working as a community to learn, to teach, to be together. See everyone is
gifted and we're meant to cherish these gifts. See with that is that oftentimes we may have to take
a little time to maybe pause and do something that we're not usually as gifted in. But that doesn't
mean that we don't get to spend more time in the things that we feel God has called us to do.
There are times whenever I end up dropping a pen on the floor and I don't know maybe I'm being
laser whatever and I'm trying to pick it up off the floor with my toes and everything and I'm like
come on I almost got it. I almost got it right. Sometimes toes aren't really meant for that but
you're you're gonna try that anyway. But sometimes it's just not only more effective but a little
more gratifying when you get to do the thing that you're designed and meant for. The thing is is
that I broke my toe. I didn't try to replace it with something else. I mean did I try to replace
my broken toe with an eye? No because that would be really weird and it's not covered by insurance.
But the thing is is that instead of trying to be someone else is that God is wanting us to be more
of ourselves. The thing is is that sometimes we're almost afraid of the gifts that we know that God
has given us. We're afraid of taking those things on. You see the thing is is sometimes we need to
be strengthened in the things that we've been called to do. We need others to encourage us not
only to share those gifts but to be happy and joyful in being a part of this community. See the
thing is is that maybe maybe you're looking at doing something that you're afraid might be a
little bit too noticeable. Yeah I could do that but people might pay a little too much attention to
me and I don't know. I feel like I might end up letting people down. See that's the thing is that
sometimes we're afraid of hurting the body because we know that we have weaknesses. We know we have
struggles. We know that we don't have it all figured out. And the reality is that as much as
we're afraid of being noticed and that people can realize that, is that it's also not something to
fear because that's when we need the body even more. The thing is is that as much as you know
like my broken toe was over there in pain and I couldn't walk, am I going to be over there just
yelling at my broken toe? How dare you toe? How dare you be broken? What's wrong with you? Stupid
toe? Okay maybe I did do that every day for three months. But the thing is is that the point of
whenever we're struggling and we're hurting is that that's also the time when we need each other
more. That's the time when we need the community. When we need the body of Christ. Because we need
to know that we're not going through that alone. The whole body had to take the time for the one
but because that one part mattered. And that's the thing is that sometimes we need a little tender
loving care. We don't need to be afraid of sharing our gifts just because someone will discover that
we don't have everything all figured out. But even more than the times when we have failures,
what about the fact that we're kind of weird? I know it's hard to believe but there are some
people who occasionally think I'm a little strange. I know, I know it's okay. I know you
don't get it. But the thing is is that you know sometimes you're kind of like man why is there
that weird toenail right there? It's always kind of off to the side a little bit and you're kind
of wondering about it. It's like maybe you're afraid of being involved in the community of God
because you're like I'm different. I don't see that I'm gonna fit in all that well. I mean for
crying out like nobody seems quite like me and I don't know how it is that my oddity is supposed
to be a part of the church. You know what's interesting about the church? Wouldn't it be weird?
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could help others enjoy their uniqueness? Has anybody wondered
about that little dangly punching bag in the back of your throat? Okay you're over there,
you're brushing your teeth, you take a look and there's a little dangly hanging piece of flesh in
the back of your mouth and it's weird looking okay. It's this one little piece of flesh and it's kind
of dangling down okay and you're kind of like that's the yufila, that's a weird name for that okay
and you're kind of looking at it you're like that's so strange why do I even need it to be there
and then you realize that without it you know like that helps with saliva but also it keeps the
food and the drink from going up into your nose when you swallow. So you know you could be the
part of the body of Christ that keeps meat and potatoes from going up into the nose of Christ.
So you know there is a part for everybody no matter how weird and dangly it may be. The truth
is is that our uniqueness it's not because we're trying to gain attention or importance but because
we're meant to bless others with the uniqueness. See that's the thing about this, the body of Christ
is kind of complicated. We don't always get it, we don't always understand every single piece.
Lynn Osborn said earlier that he was the appendix of Christ and I'm like well I don't know about
that but sometimes I know we sometimes feel that way but the truth being told is that it's
complicated as we are it's the complexity that's needed. The reality is that before we debate and
argue about who's important what's important what's necessary is that maybe instead we take the time
to appreciate the oddities because all the different parts they end up working together in ways we
didn't even realize. As my toe was healing and my hands needed to stretch the tendons so that it
could move again and then I needed to use my mouth to ask questions of what to do and how to care
for it. All the different parts that are there is that without the entire body there's always
something missing. There's always some part that we can't do when one part isn't connected to the
whole. I don't know what may have caused any of you to feel like you weren't a part of the body
like you didn't matter to the body and like maybe you weren't missed but the reality is that you are
completely vital because you belong to Christ because Christ you matter to us so wherever you
may be whatever you may have been feeling you are needed here because you always have been.
Thanks be to God.