Last week I accidentally cut the top of my thumb. This necessitated a trip to A&E and resulted with a very impressive bandage on the injured digit. I had plenty of time to reflect whilst waiting to be seen by a nurse in the Urgent Treatment Centre. (Actually the wait wasn’t excessively long). It was interesting to see who else was in the waiting room. There was me sitting with my thumb stuck up in the air, another man who was sitting with a large pad of gauze on top of his bald head, another with a grubby bandage on his hand, and someone else hobbling on an injured ankle.
It got me to thinking about body parts! Some of you may know that I play the piano or organ at church and having a thumb heavily bandaged and sticking up conspicuously in the air meant there was probably going to be more bum notes than usual!
Did you know that the thumb is one of the most valuable parts of the body in insurance terms? Without a thumb one cannot grip. The affected hand is almost useless without a thumb. It may be a relatively small body part but it is essential for daily activities.
This reminded me of the passage in 1 Corinthians 12: 12-30 where Paul talks about the church being one body with many parts, and that each are dependent on each other. Although we may think some parts of the body are more important than others, all parts have their place and are made just as God wanted them to be. So it is with the church and its various parts. Some may be visible up at the front, others quietly work unnoticed.
As I sat there in the waiting room with my injured thumb I reflected on what I would not be able to do for a while, the man with the cut head needed to have his injury treated so that he could get back to work on a ladder, the man with the injured hand had it treated so that he could return to work, and the man hobbling on his painful ankle was reassured of no major injury and that he would soon be mobile again. Each of us had a valuable part to play in whatever was going on in our lives.
I, however, have been banned from using any sharp knives, saws, axes etc in the near future!
Prayer: Thank you God that you made each of us just as you wanted. Thank you that we each have an important part to play. Help us to value those who lead from the front, and those who work quietly from the back. Help us to recognise each others gifts and graces, and to acknowledge our dependence not on our own abilities but on the power that only you can give. AMEN