Snowflakes
At the Fall Retreat this past weekend I gave every camper a square piece of paper and we each made a snowflake. Every single one was hand-crafted, uniquely designed, and beautiful – just like each of the campers who created them. No two snowflakes were exactly the same. Each had its own design, yet each was still a snowflake.
We are a lot like these snowflakes – hand-crafted, uniquely designed, beautiful, and loved by the Creator of us. Not one of us is exactly the same. He made us to be our own individuals – ON PURPOSE. Our skills, talents, looks, abilities, gifts, and even things we are not so good at, are all purposely given to each of us.
A beautiful thing about snowflakes is that they are breathtaking on their own, but even more so when they come together and create a blanket of snow. As we are all our own individual selves, together we make up the body of Christ. Every part is important and every part is needed. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 says it perfectly.
“The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.”