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Today’s Scattered Seed
I used to sew. A lot. In fact, we had a bit of a fabric store in the basement of our home in the mid 70s. My uncle used our house as a temporary stopping place while his business was being renovated. I went on to sew furry dice in high school, when our whole family took on the job of cutting, stuffing, and stitching the popular fad.
By the time my first son was born, I was into quilt making, and everything remotely related to quilts. Once the kids started crawling, however, I put away the pin cushions and scissors. For the most part they’ve been retired ever since.
On the rare occasion that I do get to sewing, I find that I’m somewhat lost. It’s just not the same without my Singer 66. Like an old friend, so was our relationship. I knew what made it tick, and what made it stick. It did two things: straight stitch and zig zag. That’s all that I wanted, and come to think of it, that’s all that I need.
Put me in front of a sewing machine today and any number of things can go wrong. In fact, they usually do. If it’s not the tension, it could be the thread. It might be the needle, depending on what kind of fabric I’m using, and if it’s not that, then maybe the bobbin’s not right. Maybe I wound it too tight, maybe it’s loose, or perhaps it’s not the bobbin at all. Maybe I’ve threaded it wrong. Maybe it’s me…
As I got to thinking about that today, I was reminded of the body of Christ. How the Bible says,
God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. (1 Corinthians 12:18-20, NIV)
Like a well-oiled machine, we all have our purpose. Each part working together, every part as vital as the next.
Looking at the scripture in 1 Corinthians 12, we see 5 things that Paul is teaching us:
1. The body of Christ is made up of many parts. None of us are created the same and we shouldn’t expect to be.
2. God has placed us in different parts of the body. We’ve all been gifted in different ways, and with our gifts we work together as one.
3. We’re all dependant upon each other. We need everyone working together.
4. Even the weakest among us are indispensable. Remember, while our face is front and center in this world, it needs those vital organs that are hidden out of site.
Pay close attention to this one, my friend. It’s a difficult step…
4. If one part suffers, we all suffer. When one rejoices we all rejoice. Or do we? It’s easy to show compassion to those who are hurting. It makes us feel good, and for the most part, it makes us look good–both to the person that we’re consoling and to others around us. But here’s the thing, we’re also called to rejoice with our brethren. That means putting aside our our self-centered heart for the good of another. It’s casting aside all of our envy, our jealousy, and pride to rejoice in the success of our brethren. It’s being happy when they get things we don’t.
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Tilling the Soil
Read 1 Corinthians 12, where Paul talks about the body of Christ.
Planting Hope
God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. (1 Corinthians 12:18-20, NIV)
Darlene Schacht and her husband Michael live in Manitoba Canada where the summers are beautiful and the winters are cold. Together they’ve come to learn that relationships aren’t always easy, but that marriage, the way God intended it to be, is a treasure worth fighting for.
She began her publishing journey about twelve years ago when she pioneered one of the first online magazines for Christian women, known at the time as “Christian Women Online Magazine.” After three years, Darlene left CWO to blog as a solo author at Time-Warp Wife Ministries.
It was also during this transition that she worked alongside actress Candace Cameron Bure to write the NYT Best-Selling book, Reshaping it All: Motivation for Spiritual and Physical Fitness. Reshaping it All was the winner of both the 2011 USA Best Book Awards and the 2012 Christian Reading Retailers Choice Awards.
Author of more than 15 books, Darlene continues to write and to minister to her readers through her blog at TimeWarpWife.com.
Connect with Darlene:
Facebook: @timewarpwife
Instagram: @timewarpwife
Pinterest: @timewarpwife
Twitter: @timewarpwife
You are loved by an almighty God,
Darlene Schacht
The Time-Warp Wife