Have you ever put a jigsaw puzzle together? What is the first part of the puzzle that you do? I always start by doing the border. It give a frame for the puzzle. As I was putting my last puzzle together, it struck me that as I got sections done and connected each section to the border the puzzle got stronger and it shifted less. The picture made more sense and it was easier to see where each piece belonged. As I struggled with the stripes on the zebra, the Lord spoke to my heart and said that this was a lot like the body of Christ. Immediately, 1 Corinthians 12: 11-21,27 came to mind.
But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because i am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it.
Is there something going on in your life that is making you feel like you do not belong, like there is no place for you? In the same way that it was difficult for me to see the zebra in the loose pieces of my puzzle, sometimes it is difficult to see where each of us fits into the body of Christ, but that does not mean that you are not a part of the body, or that that you do belong. Like trying to put puzzles pieces together, sometimes you just have to try to see if you fit in a particular place. If it does not work, just keep trying. If you have a relationship with Jesus, you are a part of the body of Christ, there is a place for you, and the body of Christ is not complete without you.
The LORD bless you with finding your place in the body of Christ and being persistent until you do.
I love you,
Ruth
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