Where Only You Fit!!

By Joe Chesser

    There are times in our lives when we are overwhelmed with the magnitude of the universe and, in contrast, with our own insignificance. Do you remember being in the country away from the city lights staring up at the stars on one of those cool, crisp, cloudless nights? Awesome, wasn’t it? There was nothing to inhibit the brilliancy of the stars millions of miles away shining against the pitch black sky from once again confirming the vastness of God’s universe. This must have been the very same experience David had before writing:

                                                When I consider your heavens,
                                                   the work of your fingers,
                                                the moon and the stars,
                                                  which you have set in place,
                                                what is man that your are mindful of him,
                                                                                                            Psalm 8:3-4 

    Sometimes, though, we allow these kinds of feelings of unimportance to dominate our thinking so much that we fail to realize our place in the mind of God. We may be but a speck of dust, yet that speck of dust has more value and importance to God than all of the stars and planets and galaxies combined!! Of all of God’s creation, man is supreme. And not just mankind in general, but each person as an individual is most valuable to God. For the love of a mere speck of dust God sent His only Son to give us eternal life (John 3:16).
    Yet that’s not all. For those who accept by faith and obedience God’s gift of salvation, there is a special place. When we are baptized into Christ we become a part of the church, and it’s within this church that we have a special place. It’s not like a drop of water falling into the ocean, losing all sense of distinctiveness. No, it’s more like a new rose blossom – similar to all the others, yet unique in its own way.
    Each of us has a place in the body of Christ that no one else can fill.

                        Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these
                        members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who
                        are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the
                        others.                                                                         Romans 12:4-5

You are unique in Christ! You have a function to fulfill that no one else can duplicate, which of course, is both a blessing and a responsibility. So, examine yourself closely and discover what it is that God has in mind for you. Then praise God as you function within the body of Christ. There is a place where only you belong!

- Joe Chesser preaches for the Fruitland Church of Christ, Fruitland, MO.  He may be contacted at joeandareva@yahoo.com