Care For One Another
“No one is concerned for me… no one cares for my life” (Psalm 142:4).
How is it possible that the "man after God's own heart" felt like no one cared for him? But the mighty king and psalmist, David, at perhaps the lowest point in his life while hiding in a cave, felt like no one cared for him.
Have you ever felt that way? It is a hopeless feeling; a sense of being terribly alone in our pain and fear – a feeling of being disconnected and without help, cut off, overlooked, ignored, anonymous. That’s why the Bible instructs us to care for one another. No one should ever have to experience the pain of being alone. Do you know someone who is alone and needs care?
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| Eder Caves in Israel (Photo Credit: www.biblewalks.com) |
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1 Corinthians 12:25 - "Have the same care one for another..."
In his letters to the churches, Paul created an analogy between the physical human body and the spiritual body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12 says, “But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it” (vv. 24–26).
These verses teach us valuable lessons on how the body of Christ, the church, should function and demonstrate care to its members. Let’s consider a couple of similarities between our physical bodies and the spiritual body of Christ:
1) When one part of the body is in pain, it affects the other parts.
Physical body – About once a year, I strain my back. It puts me in bed for several days. Although only one part of my body is hurting, the pain affects my entire body; every part is influenced.
Body of Christ – I just received an e-mail from a lifelong friend whose wife has been diagnosed with terminal melanoma. The doctors have given her six months to live. I am saddened by the news. I hurt for my friend. His pain is my pain.
2) When one part of the body is cared for, all parts benefit.
Physical body – Years ago, I took one of my daughters to the emergency room because she was feeling lightheaded and dizzy. Fortunately, it was nothing serious. I remember visiting with the young doctor who was on call. The emergency room was quiet that evening, so we had ample time to talk. In the course of the conversation I asked him a question: “When I have a pain in a particular part of my body – perhaps I just banged my finger with a hammer – and I take pain medication, how does the medicine know to go to that particular part of the body?” His answer was, “It doesn’t. The medication affects all parts of the body the same; you just sense relief in the area that was hurting the most.”
Body of Christ – This week I talked to another lifelong friend who told me that after eighteen years of trying to conceive, he and his wife are expecting their first baby. They are elated, and so am I.
