Missing Pieces
By Rev. William Dohle



“On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” 1 Corinthians 12:22-26

My son is a puzzle nut! Literally! Our middle son, Matthew, will spend hours and hours on a single 100 piece puzzle. Then, once its finished, he wants to save it just like it is. He loves when the pieces are all there.

But every once in awhile, he finds a puzzle with pieces missing and that drives him nuts! He can spend hours looking for the single missing piece because the puzzle isn’t complete without it! If we try to pick up the unassembled puzzle, he’ll say: “No! It’s not finished yet!”

Paul describes us as members of the Body of Christ, but maybe it would be better to think of us as pieces of a puzzle. Pieces in a grand puzzle called the Body of Christ. Like puzzle pieces, we’re all unique. There is not one of us who are alike. Much like a 5000 piece puzzle, when we look closely at ourselves, we discover we are really quite unique. Each of us have different gifts, different talents, and different abilities that we bring to the table.

We also discover that we all fit together. Since no two of us are exactly alike, we need every one of us to make the puzzle complete. With one of us missing, the puzzle loses its picture. It becomes empty in some parts. The ends of some pieces cease connecting to each other because the piece that connected them together is gone.

Every one of us are indispensable! This especially applies to the body of Christ. People are amazed when, after being away from church for a time, they are greeted with such warmth and affection. “They really missed me,” they think. Or they shrink back when they encounter their pastor in the store who voices the same concern: “We miss you!”

The fact is: The Body of Christ needs each and every piece in order to make sense! Without YOU in that puzzle, there is something missing. Without YOU bringing YOUR unique styles, opinions, and gifts into the mix, the entire body of Christ is diminished. Without YOU bringing YOUR children, YOUR spouse, YOUR self with all of YOUR baggage, the Body of Christ doesn’t work right. It takes every single one of us!

I’ve often said that if every member of my church actually came on the same Sunday we wouldn’t have room to hold all the people! It’s very true! What if you saw yourself as uniquely important to the larger Body of Christ? What if you took a step back and realized that YOU were important to others in a very real sense? What if YOU could step back and see the picture as God sees it, as an interwoven network of connections stemming from Christ? What if YOU could see the people YOU affect by YOUR actions and the ways that they are connected to YOU? Would that change you? Would that transform you? Would that encourage you? Would that vision of God embodied in the world, and in you, transform your life? Amen!