August 29, 2023 - Good Morning! It's Tuesday, August 29.
We're talking today about family, a very special family, the String Family. This family includes dozens of instruments, each unique in size and shape and sound - but holding one thing in common - they all make music using the vibration of a string. But even the number of strings that each use is unique - the guitar has 6 strings, the violin 4 - the mandolin has 8 strings, the banjo 5 - the harp has 47, the dulcimer only 3. Yes, these instruments are distinctly different from each other, but because they hold in common one foundational characteristic... they are a family.
I don't know about your church, but First Baptist Center is made up of many unique individuals, each with a unique personality, each with unique backgrounds, each with unique gifts. The Apostle Paul addresses this in I Corinthians 12.
- I Corinthians 12: 4 - There are many gifts, but one Spirit is the source of them all.
- I Corinthians 12: 18-20 - God has arranged the members of the body, every one of them, according to His design. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
- I Corinthians 12: 27, 29-31 - Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a member of it. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Rather, eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way...
And what is that most excellent way? Look at the address of that last verse - it sits on the threshold of one of the most famous chapters in the Bible - the 13th Chapter of I Corinthians - the Love Chapter. The greatest gift? The greatest of these is love. It's still the "most excellent way."
And so, in the Christian life, you may be the violin or the concert harp - or maybe you're more like the ukulele. The differences aren't as important as what we hold in common. It's not about our gifts - it's about His grace. That's what makes us... a family.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
