Stubbing Your Toe

Have you ever stubbed your toe? Of course you have. It’s terrible, isn’t it? The worst, in my opinion, is stubbing the pinky toe. When the Florida Gators basketball team was playing in the 2000 National Championship game, I jumped off the couch in celebration at one point and stubbed my pinky toe on our coffee table. If I think about it, I can still feel the pain coursing through my body twenty years later (it was almost as bad as the pain of losing that game!).

Stubbing a toe hurts, and that is why it is such a fitting analogy for lack of unity in the church. You might not have heard somebody make that analogy, but the Greek language does that for us. You see, Acts 2:46 says the new church members were together “day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, [and] they received their food with glad and generous hearts.” I want you to think about that phrase generous hearts. 

In Greek the word generous literally means, “without rock, smooth, simple, or single.” Without rock? How does “without rock” turn into generous hearts? When everyone was getting along, things were nice and smooth; there were no rocks to make the path difficult, and no one was stubbing their toe. The opposite is to have a rocky road and many stubbed toes, including pinky toes. This is the scene depicted by lack of unity in the church. 

When church members fight with one another they are casting stones into the path where they are liable to be kicked by other people. They are creating an environment where people have to watch their step at all times. There are no generous hearts (or singleness/simplicity of hearts in the KJV and NKJV). 

What kind of path are you creating? Are you smoothing out the road by your actions, or are you laying down a rock bed? You can smooth the path by being forgiving, merciful, gentle, meek, loving, patient, and understanding. You can add rocks to the path by being selfish, hateful, bitter, unforgiving, and forcing people to take sides with a “my way or the highway” approach.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9).” Peacemakers remove the rocks from the path and help other people get along. Nobody wants a stubbed toe, so let’s not add any rocks to this world’s already rocky road. 

One

God has an interesting thing He likes to do. From the beginning of time God has made a unity from a plurality. In the Garden of Eden He joined Adam and Eve together in holy matrimony, saying, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined unto his wife, and they shall become one flesh (Genesis 2:24).” Through biblical marriage (“a man…his wife”) two individuals become. There was still Adam and there was still Eve, but they were one.

That isn’t possible. How can they be separate, yet still be one? This is something only God can do. In fact, He leads by example. Notice how the same word onecomes up as God describes Himself: “Hear O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one (Deuteronomy 6:4)!” The word one is the same Hebrew word in both passages. God or Elohim,is plural (literally “the Gods”). We know He is plural because He is Father, Son, and Spirit, and yet He is one God. This is another unity of plurality. He can be three distinct individuals, and yet be one God. It wasn’t the Holy Spirit who died on the cross, it was Jesus; it isn’t Jesus that seals the believer’s heart, it is the Holy Spirit—but both are a work of God. They are unique, and yet they are one. 

God leads by example in uniting that which is plural, and He does something similar when He unites us in marriage. There is still another way that He does this, and that is in bringing Christians all over the world into one body. In Ephesians 4 Paul uses that word one seven times in verses two through five, and he uses the word all three times in verse five. Speaking to “you all,” he says, “There is one body.” As part of the collective Bride of Christ, believers around the globe comprise one large body, and each local church is also composed of many members, and yet is one. This is what Paul is talking about when he said, “For as the [human] body is one and has many members…so also is Christ…For in fact the body (church) is not one member, but many (I Corinthians 12:12-14).”  

Part of the way we are created in the image of God is in the unity of plurality. If you are in a biblical marriage, God has turned two into one; and as part of the true church, God has made many into one. Your marriage can only work if you are willing to be part of something bigger than yourself, and the same is true of church. Your local church body is counting on you to be faithful and use your spiritual gifts, so don’t let them down. If you aren’t involved in a local body, you need to be. Until then, you are an individual, and God wants to unite you into His plural family. 

Teamwork

As a high school basketball coach I always enjoy the beginning of the new season when I get to assess the talent on the new roster. Some will be natural ball handlers, some shooters, and some defenders. Some have a natural knack to score points, while some naturally know how to prevent the other team from scoring points.

Which is more important—offense or defense? On the offensive side, which is more important—scoring or setting up someone else to score? The answer is all of the above. That is the essence of teamwork.

In the Christian ministry there are different types of gifts. Some are comfortable behind a pulpit while others are comfortable behind the scenes. Which is more important—the man who preaches the sermon or the one who runs his microphone or the camera that broadcasts it? Is not the one who changes diapers in a nursery just as important, because she allows the child’s parents to be able to listen to the message?

The answer, once again, is all of the above. The Christian ministry is about teamwork, with each team member using his gift for the greater good.

And these gifts are nothing we can boast of. Paul told the Corinthian church that “there are diversities of gifts, but one Spirit (I Corinthians 12:4).”

So no matter what your gift is, do it as unto the Lord. If you preach or teach, then do it with all your might, but remember that your gift is no more important than the one who cleans the building. If you take out trash, then throw out each bag with joy, for you are furthering the kingdom of Christ.

And remember, if you are not doing your part the whole team suffers. So let’s break this huddle and get back out there.

“Now there are diversities of gifts, but one Spirit.”

I Corinthians 12:4

One Man

There are so many things that can cause disunity in the body of Christ. We can argue and break fellowship over the most ridiculous things. I have seen churches split and Christians spit over “issues” like music style in church, drums in church, dress code in church, and the carpet color in church.

These are all petty and childish. There are some doctrinal issues that we should be willing to divide over, like if someone believes that there is another way to heaven besides through Jesus. But whether or not a person wears a tie is certainly not doctrinal.

In Nehemiah 8:1 Ezra took the books of Moses in the open square and read it aloud to the assembly of Israel. That verse says that people were “gathered together as one man” to hear the Word of the Lord.

That is exactly how we should be. We can disagree over non-biblical matters like which modern instruments we like, but when it comes to God’s Word we can still come together in unity, as one man. This is possible because we believe in the one true God, so we can unite around His unchanging Word.

“Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel.”

Nehemiah 8:1

Lesson From Kid's Camp

Last week we took 89 people to Look Up Lodge for our children’s camp. We got to do some really fun things, like zip lines, bungee swings, kayaking, paddle boats, water slides, and many other things. I believe that everyone that went had an amazing time.

But because we bring such a large group we get divided up into two smaller groups for some of the activities. We still do most things together, but we get separated for things like group Bible activities and dismissal from chapel. This year our group names were Ice and Aloha, and each group member wears a team bracelet all week.

Instead of being called Philippi, we were called either Ice or Aloha, which is obviously a rare experience for us. But on the last night we all got to come together to do our final activity where we paint the kids’ faces and say something encouraging to them. I took that opportunity to remind everybody that, whether they were Ice or Aloha for the week, we were all still Philippi. But we were privileged to have a few kids from sister churches join us for the week, but the thing that is most important is not what church you attend, but that you are living for Christ.

Galatians 3:28 puts it this way: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female [nor ICE or ALOHA]: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

And Ephesians 4:3-6 adds this: “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

If you have given your life to Christ and are living for Him, then God is in you, and you are my brother or sister in Jesus, and that is what is most important. I will not compete with any church over numbers, influence, or popularity; instead, let’s join hands and win the lost for the Lord.