By Not Known
The human body is an amazing creation. Here are just five amazing facts about it.
Fact 1: The lungs contain over 300,000 million capillaries (tiny blood vessels). If they were laid from end to end, they would stretch 2,400km.
Fact 2: The strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue.
Fact 3: Each kidney contains 1 million individual filters. They filter an average of around 1.3 litres of blood per minute, and expel up to 1.4 litres a day of urine.
Fact 4: A single human blood cell takes only 60 seconds to make a complete circuit of the body.
Fact 5: The stomach’s digestive acids are strong enough to dissolve zinc. Fortunately, the cells in the stomach lining renew so quickly that the acids do not have time to dissolve it.
The human body comprises of so many parts that fit together in perfect unison for it to function healthily.
In 1 Cor 12, Paul begins by comparing us (the church) to a human body. He shows us three characteristics of the body of Christ.
We have unity: verses 12-13.
Just as the lungs, kidneys, stomach lining and blood cells of the body fit together, the church is filled with people who work together for the unified purpose of God’s glory. Each brings their own blend of experiences, spiritual, gifts and passions into the faith community to share it with the other members. What’s your blend?
We have diversity: verses 14-17.
Unity is not conformity. Each part has a function and role to ensure that the body is healthy. Likewise, it is in the differences that we can share in the work of the one who brings us together. We share a unity in our love for Jesus, his mission, and in our commitment to his body; and we share in diversity how each of us expresses that unity.
We have dependency: verse 18-26.
We might not give our internal organs much thought unless they are bothering us but they allow us to eat and breathe correctly. For example: God has arranged for the digestive acids and stomach lining to work in effective unity, one just can not function well without the other.
Likewise we are dependent on each other in the church. Because of the uniqueness that each one of us brings, we can and should treat one another with mutual respect. We should never dismiss someone because they are “too young to know better” or they are “too old and stuck in their old ways”. Everyone contributes something valuable. Some are in the background ensuring that the breakfast stalls are set up and the chairs are stacked. While some serve at the ‘frontline’ before a microphone. It is in God’s grand design that they are appointed.
God has made us all unique and diverse, bringing us together in unity. So by his Spirit let us grow as one body in Christ.
Amos Lau