A Wondrous Body, The Body of Christ

If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed, even where there is no great experience, no discoverable riches, but much weakness, small faith, and difficulty; if on the contrary, we only keep complaining to God that everything is so paltry and petty, so far from what we expected, then we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow according to the measure and riches which are there for us all in Jesus Christ. -Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The apostle Paul likened the church, the body of Christ, to the human body; one body made up of many parts, some gloriously gifted, and some fragile and needing to be treated with special care and discretion (see 1 Corinthians 12 for the full passage). Our role within that body begins with thanksgiving; each part is an invaluable part of the whole; no part is to be cast aside as having no place in the body. Giving thanks is the remedy for a critical and condemning spirit; love the remedy for fear; and unity is the ultimate channel of blessing for the body of Christ. John 13 assures us, they (the world) will know we are Christians by our love for one another … not our complaints and criticisms. This is a matter worthy of our prayers!