Missing Parts
One day my teenage son came home with his first motorcycle project. I should say it was his first and only project to date. It is a 1976 Suzuki Water Cooled 750 CC. It is by motorcycle standards a classic. They were one of the first liquid cooled motorcycles. The seller told him all the parts could be found in the boxes and it just needed to be assembled. I looked at the project, bought him a book on assembling a motorcycle and watch it sit disassembled until the recent stay at home order this Spring.
I took the opportunity of quarantine to begin the project. I began by lying out all the parts of the bike. Hoping this would give me an idea of where to begin this project. However, it did not take long before I realized that there are missing parts. Yes, all the big parts are there. Well except the drive chain which is a big part to making the bike move forward. Mostly what is missing are a lot of the small parts, the integral parts, the little parts that make the big parts look good. Parts like gears, cables, washers, clamps, bearings, and I am sure there are others I have failed to mention. I have decided to cut our losses and put the bike partially together. Together enough that to the untrained eye it looks like it is ready to roll. Roll is all it will do.
The church is in some ways like this bike. It has all the big pieces in the right place that gives the appearance that it is ready to roll. But when you look closer at the church you begin to recognize that there are hoses disconnected, small integral pieces missing, and the church is not as effective as it thinks it is. The church like this bike needs all the pieces connected and working as God intends them to work for the church to effectively complete its mission in its community.
What part are you? 1 Corinthians 12:7 says that each one of us has a gift of the Spirit to be used for the common good. The common good being the work of the church both locally and globally. 1 Corinthians 12:27 says that we are all part of the body of Christ. So what part are you? Are you connecting to a local body of believers to use your gifts for the common good? Do you recognize that by not using your gifts and getting involved in a local body that the church is not able to operate as effectively as God intends?
Like the Bike, all the parts need to be in place. One cannot operate without the other. God calls us all to use the gifts, passions, and strengths of every believer for the common good. He calls us to be the right part in the right place for the right purpose. When this all comes together the church is ready to roll like a classic motorcycle.
