A Beautiful Masterpiece

I love to sew and have sewn for years, both for pleasure and for business. As I have honed my craft, I have learned that I dislike sewing quilts. They are too time-consuming for my personality. However, I appreciate the beauty in little bits of cloth intricately sewn together. It especially amazes me when I see a quilt that is entirely hand-stitched. I can appreciate how much time is involved in piecing together some of the more intricate patterns. 

Quilts also remind me of how the church should operate. The church is made up of a patchwork of people, sewn together into a beautiful quilt that is the body of Christ.  Each person has a different spiritual gift, personality, and talent that while by itself can be useful, but when perfectly pieced together with the rest of the body becomes something spectacular.

Some have been given gifts in teaching or prophecy. Others are gifted in administration and still others have gifts in prayer. Some are encouragers and others love to serve. Individually, each are able to make a difference in their small circle, but corporately, they are able to make a difference in this world. None is more important than the other. If one of the pieces is missing it leaves an empty space in the pattern.

God, the Master Weaver, has pieced us together into a beautiful tapestry.  No matter what your gifts or personality, you fit perfectly. One person’s gift cannot stand alone. We need each other. I need you and you need me. I Corinthian 12:18-20 says, “But now God has placed each one of the parts in one body just as He wanted. And if they were all the same part, where would the body be? Now there are many parts, yet one body.” 

Each part of the body is necessary and important. The hand or foot won't work without the head. The tendons can't hold up the rest of the body without the bones.  The veins won't send blood throughout the body without the heart. 

As I looked around the congregation I belonged to one Sunday, I saw some praying together for somebody going through a health crisis, some were busy using their gifts in serving and others were using theirs by attending to the business matters of the church. There was laughter from many and there were tears from others. No one was being ignored and all felt connected, and it was beautiful. 

I need them and they need me. Because we are individual members of a whole, with Christ as the head, we all need each other.  Despite how you may feel at times, you are a vital part of the church body and your absence leaves a hole that no one else can fill. 

When all the pieces are in place the church becomes a beautiful masterpiece.