I recently visited Saxonburg, Pennsylvania—the small town I was raised in. While there, I stopped by the farm my great-great-grandmother lived on. Her name was Elizabeth Logan.
Elizabeth’s childhood home was kept in the preservation of the town, so it’s still there, and I enjoyed getting to visit it. As I walked through that old farmhouse, I noticed a picture on the wall that intrigued me. I asked about it and was greatly moved by the story.
When Elizabeth was a teenager, her family’s barn burned down. It was a devastating blow to the Logans as the crop dictated their income, and it was almost time for harvest. Before they could wrap their head around a solution, the Saxonburg community jumped in to solve the problem. They joined together to rebuild the Logan’s entire barn, finishing before harvest.
The picture hanging in the living room showed a barbecue the Logan family had thrown to thank their community. Elizabeth, a music teacher, was playing the piano, and everyone was standing around singing praises to God for His provision.
Friends, this is what the Church is meant to be—a community of people who love and serve each other, using our strengths to cover each other’s weaknesses. It’s like Dietrich Bonhoeffer said: “The church is not a religious community of those who revere Christ, but Christ who has taken form among human beings.”
We’re called to live like Jesus, valuing unity that creates extraordinary community. When we do, we end up building together what we could never build alone.
The Apostle Paul talks about this unity in 1 Corinthians 12:27: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” Throughout chapter 12, we find more wisdom on how to be the Church Jesus wants us to be.
Verse 17 reminds us that every person is important to the body of Christ, no matter how small they think their role is. Verse 23 (MEV) says that to live in unity, we should honor that reality. It says, “… those parts of the body which we think are less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor . . .”
Verses 21 and 26 show us we should treasure the worth of unity by doing the work it requires. The verses say, “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!’… If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”
We won’t naturally get along with every person, and that’s okay. God doesn’t ask us to like everyone, but He does ask us to love everyone—and to work with each person toward unity.Then, verses 15-16 remind us to prioritize the purposes God has for us individually. As we play our part well, we will contribute to building the unified Church Jesus died for. We will always be better together!
