When a teacher missed school for a week because he was sick, everyone started to get worried. After going to the hospital for a few days, he returned to school and showed us what the problem had been—a kidney stone. He’d asked his doctor to give him the stone so he could show us all! Looking at that stone grossed me out, but I was also sympathetic. It must have been very painful!

Isn’t it weird how something so small can cause so much pain? But in a way, that’s what Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 12:26: “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it.” All the way through chapter 12, Paul used the idea of a body to describe Christians around the world. When Paul said, “God has put the body together” (V.24), he was talking about the whole church—all Christians. We all have different gifts and jobs to do. But since we’re all part of the same body, if one person hurts, we all hurt. When another Christian is suffering through a tough time, grief or hatred because of what they believe, we hurt with them as if we’re experiencing the pain too.

My teacher’s pain forced him to get the help he needed. In the body of Jesus, we should also find ourselves wanting to help out when we see others are suffering in some way. We might pray, just spend some time with them or do whatever it takes to show them that we’re ready to go through it with them. That’s how the body works together.

By: Linda Washington

To Pray About . . .

Father, please give peace to those I know who are struggling or in pain. Your family is my family too.