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Friday, May 4, 2012

My Inner Worm?

Hello sweet friends.Welcome back.

Grab a cup of coffee or tea or whatever you wish.
Kick your shoes off and relax a moment with me as we contemplate the joy of servanthood.

Now, close your eyes for a moment if you will.
Come on . . .
I'm not going to sneak up and scare you I promise.

Just close your eyes and think about the wonder of you.
Right now as you sit quietly, you are actually very busy.

Your heart is beating, pumping all the red blood through your veins and arteries.
They in turn are nourishing your organs.
Kidneys are filtering and flushing.
Your liver is detoxifying and absorbing certain nutrients.
Lungs are bringing in oxygen.
Your stomach and intestines are busy digesting your last meal.
Your brain is firing messages all over your body in intricate patterns to coordinate every detail.
Your eyes are reading this . . .

Hey, wait a minute aren't your eyes supposed to be closed?

Oh well, I guess you have use your eyes to read and I thank the Lord that you are reading this.
Bless you, dear one.

Even your bones are working making new red blood cells and giving you a frame; some structure so that you're not just in a heap on the floor right now like a big jellyfish with hair and teeth.
Thank the Lord for that!

Every part in your body is unique and necessary for its effective functioning.
Some of you may have medical issues where one or more of your parts are not functioning properly. You know first hand the difficulty when all parts do not work together for the common good of the body.
I'm sorry that you have to endure those diagnoses.
I will lift you up to the Father in prayer.

That's exactly the point I was getting to, working together as the body of Christ.

. . . all the members of the body, though, they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.                 1 Corinthians 12:12


Saturday I had the wonderful opportunity to serve the community along with 1700 others in our area.

This one day, the last Saturday in April, there is an organized time of reaching out to help others. Now, I don't mean to imply that is the only time of year there is an outreach to those in need. But, this is one of the largest joined group efforts specifically organized for that purpose.

So many people turned out bright and early. There were young and old alike. One volunteer was in a wheelchair. Every size and description showed up.
All that was necessary was a willing spirit.
Some had signed up to do gardening, others to clean windows, building projects were being tackled, picking up litter in neighborhoods, packing lunches, distributing backpacks full for families in need, sorting out clothes, and countless other activities to help.

A team had volunteered to pray over all of the projects, the volunteers, the community and everyone in it. Pray at the Spirit's leading.

Everyone was there to be a servant. We had all chosen to serve . . . to be the hands and feet . . . different parts of one body.

What a blessing to share the love of Christ in this way.

One thing we all had in common.

There were SMILES! There was joy all around!

Leo Tolstoy once said: "Life is a place of service. Joy can be real only if people look upon their life as a service and have a definite object in life outside of themselves and their personal happiness."


We are the body of Christ. That means everyone of us has a unique place that only we can fill. We are needed for the smooth and proper functioning of the whole body.

The secondary benefit is we find true joy in the humility of servanthood.
We become one with Christ, the perfect servant.


My son was wrote an essay for English class. Although entertaining, I was struck with the insight and truth of it. So today, my son is my guest blogger. I hope you enjoy.
Take it away, Will.


Digging for Hope


Getting out of my car on this beautiful, brisk, October afternoon, something caught my eye. On my black asphalt driveway, about three inches away from my foot, lay a pink, juicy, worm— the stereotypical standard of gross. The constant subject of childhood dares. Only a really cool kid could stomach a worm back in the day.

But this worm wasn’t being dangled in front of a child’s face, the only obstacle in a six year old boy’s path to becoming a little bit more awesome. This worm was squirming, full of life. Its unconscious instinct telling it to dig, but it lay where it could do no such thing. Maybe just crinkle some crisp autumn leaves with its pink ridged body.

Like you or me treading water in the middle of the ocean, this worm was stranded. Being a child that used to cry when I accidentally stepped on an ant, I felt obligated to help my little buddy out. So with a flick of the wrist, I sent the gentle creature back to his natural habitat, my front yard. Where he could dig to his five little hearts’ content.

For some reason, this event left me puzzled. What do worms do? As bold and simple as that question was, I couldn’t recall the information necessary to quell my curiosity. After all, they are basically just living breathing intestines, right? Whatever goes in the front comes out the back. Seems easy enough. With a little research it hit me. My idea that there had to be some significance to worms was correct.

 They are vital to any ecosystem. They do the “natural recycling”. The soil that goes in, unfertile; the soil that comes out, fertile. Bingo. Where would any ecosystem be without worms? A desert may be an exaggeration, but I make my point. With that out of my way I thought that maybe I could continue on with my afternoon. Not on my life. My thoughts kept racing.

Who are considered "worms" in modern society? Taken for granted, avoided, stepped on and eaten? And what would society be like without them? If every last person strived to attend Harvard Law or went to business school to try to be the next big multi-million dollar CEO? What if there was no one left to do the necessary but dirty work? Like getting up in the middle of the night and collecting the trash that we place on our curbs. To mop the floors when we’re clumsy enough to spill a drink, or carelessly drop food? With nobody to do such things, with nobody to do the “natural recycling”, our days would be littered with more than just trash. Society would crash. Just as an ecosystem would if a small but integral part of it, such as a worm, was missing.   

Everyone has their place in society. Some run businesses, and some unclog drains. The hope for renewal of society is found in appreciation of everyone’s unique contribution. Whether or not you’re a worm or a butterfly you can’t forget that you have a job to do, and society depends on it. Just as that worm was squirming to find something to dig into, society needs to find something to hold on to. A sense of pride in who they are. The pride that is a constant reminder that you play a role in society. And a vital one at that. Once one has obtained gratification for themselves, only then will they be able to embrace their inner-worm.


(c) 2011 W.J. Evans


Thank you, son.

I love his comical and very real perspective on society.

I am reminded of the scriptural truth on this subject.
In 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. I would encourage you to read the entire passage. I will only highlight parts of it.

Verses 16 and 17 say, And if the ear says, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body.' It is not for this reason any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing where would the sense of smell be?

Verse 20- "But now there are many members but one body.

Verse 26 and 27-  And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored all the members rejoice with it.
Now you are Christ's body and individual members of it.

God has blest each of us with special gifts, talents and experiences. We each have our own arena of people with whom to share Him.
He, by His divine hand has placed us where we are for His purposes.
So let's get out there friends and be who He wants us to be, for who He wants us reach.
Start with a prayer.

Thank you, precious Savior and Lord for making me the unique and irreplaceable person that I am. I pray that You will help me to see myself as You see me. Use me as a servant for the futherance of Your kingdom.
Amen.

Praise God!






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