You mean – I CAN’T do it all???

Dec 17 – No Doubt

All right.  I’m going to ask a lot of you today – if you would, read 1 Corinthians 12.  Go ahead.  Read all of it.  It’s not THAT long. 

The heart of the matter as I see it is found in verse 27 which says “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”  It sounds so brilliantly simple – God has blessed each one of us with different gifts and we are meant to use those gifts together.  What’s so hard about that?  Here’s my struggle with that whole thing – I fully admit my weaknesses in the body of the Church (all the believers everywhere together) but I don’t admit it within my own ministry.  Let’s look at an example -

Let’s say that someone is born and raised as an athlete.  Eventually, they find out that they are much better at football than baseball so they let go of playing baseball and concentrate on playing football – the thing they are really gifted in.  But what if that person, now designated a “football player” expected himself to be good at every single position on the team?  He played quarterback and did it well but then thought that he should be able to stay on the field as a defensive lineman and then stay on the field as a kicker and then trade off with someone to be a running back – and then he got mad at himself when he wasn’t good at everything.

That’s what I did.  I expected myself to single-handedly meet every need the youth group had.  I had the title “youth director” and I thought that meant I was supposed to do it all.  But no.  I am one part of the body.  Still.  Even in a specific field of ministry.  I am Keri and Keri has strengths and weaknesses that work with other people to accomplish goals for the kingdom of God.  My strengths will help build weaker people up and my weaknesses need support and supplementing from other people’s strengths.  Just like always.

(I want to offer a caution in this as well - Often, when I discover a weakness, I will acknowledge it and then assume that God wants me to just trust Him to provide.  Sometimes, that is the case and I will be the first person to point out that God LOVES using our areas of weakness to show His strength.  That being said, however, my recent discovery was realizing that I expected God to provide to the exclusion of wisely asking others for help.  Try not to make my mistake.) 

What about you?  What are your gifts?  What are your weaknesses?  In what areas do you expect too much of yourself unfairly?  Where in your life do you see people filling in the gaps for your weaknesses – and where do you see your strengths helping other people as well?

Interdependence is so much harder than we think.  Praise God we are created to work together.