Difference Between "One" and "One"

After reading today's scripture, the verse that really caught me was 1 Corinthians 12:26, If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. I found myself reading this verse over and over thinking about my life. How often do we go about our day, see others suffering and think, "Gee, glad that's not me" or pass by someone in need and think that you are not in a position to help? Think about it this way. If you had a gaping cut on your arm, what would you do? Would you just look at it and think that its just your arm and ignore it? No. It may just be your "arm" but it is still extremely important to the rest of your body. If your arm suffers, the rest of your body suffers. You get help. You seek support. We are all the body of Christ. If one person is suffering, we all suffering. I was reading in Ephesians and found a verse in chapter 4 that shows how we all work together as the body of Christ. Ephesians 4:16 says, From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Love is the key word. We support each other, the body of Christ, through love.

We are one in Christ. Not one in ourselves. When we think of the word "one," we think singular, individual, separate from other things, alone. I find it interesting how the meaning changes when we think of it in terms of our faith. In Christ, we are one. One body, one unit. When we think about the meaning in terms of Christ, the meaning changes to individuals coming together as one. We are not alone, we are not separate from others. On Tuesday nights, there is a campus time of worship led by students called Hosanna. Last night the focus was unity in Christ. At one point in the evening, we broke into small groups and discussed what it means to us to be a part of the Body of Christ. A common theme that came up in my group was love and support. Every part of the body helps another in some way just as each part of the Body of Christ supports one another. We serve, we support, and we love... together. We are all one in Christ. I admit, sometimes this is really hard to remember. So many things in our society always tell us to focus on ourselves and that is the only thing that matters. Just care for yourself and everything will be fine. What?! That makes no sense, but that's what we are told. It is my prayer that as we go out each day, that we may go out as one in Christ -- may we think of others before ourselves. May we remember that we are not alone in the Body of Christ -- we are always surrounded.