The Blocks Fit Together
While helping at a church day camp last week, I sat near a boy who was building a fort with wooden blocks. “Why does she get to have so many?” he cried, pointing harshly at a girl who built a huge fort with at least twice as many blocks. “I just need two more blocks, then it’s done.” He asked the girl if he could take some of hers, but she refused, and when he tried to take them anyway, she just grabbed them back. The girl wouldn’t even allow him to step foot in her fort, as she announced to the whole group of kids that they could only come in if they were invited. Back at his own wooden blocks, he yelled, “Fine! Just take all of mine, then! I didn’t want them anyway!” He swung his arms in two big streaks, knocked everything over, and curled up on the ground sobbing. My first suggestion was that he make it a game to see how he could build a fort with just the blocks he had. What if he reorganized them and came up with a new design? It could be a creative challenge! He looked at me with uninterested eyes. He had a specific idea of what he wanted, and he wasn’t about to budge.
However, he wasn’t the only one building a fort with fewer blocks than the girl who had so many. There were at least two others working steadily and happily with what they had. When I suggested to the group that we combine our blocks and build something larger and cooler together, one of the other kids brought blocks over to where the boy was sitting. The boy worked on a small wing of the fort while his friend created the main walls.
While I looked at that boy and saw how ineffective it was for him to complain, God let me see how I am just like that. Those blocks are the talents and gifts that other people possess that I’ve envied. There are times I’ve “knocked over” things in my life because I’m comparing it to what other people have. At times I’ve been discontent with the gifts God has given me because sometimes it seems likes He has given more to other people.
In his impulse, the boy knocked over everything he worked so hard on and even gave up at one point, inviting others to take his blocks. He soon realized that that wasn’t what he actually wanted. Thankfully, the wooden blocks themselves – the heart and soul of his creation – were not destroyed. For years I’ve struggled with expressing myself and have usually been my own worst enemy. I’ve compared myself to wonderful friends, artists, ministers, and scholars, and found myself lacking, causing me to hold back in relationships and not grow as an artist. Still, the gifts God has given are good, and it’s not too late to put them to use – especially when they’re used in community.
If the blocks we have aren’t fitting well together, let’s rearrange them. Let’s put them in Jesus’ hands and ask for His help to appreciate, use, and enjoy the resources and talents He has given us.
Let’s welcome each other into the blessings and talents God provides. We were never meant to be isolated, jealous, insecure, and discontent because of our differences. Let’s combine our blocks because they were always meant to go together. What we do as the body of Christ is always bigger and better than what we can do on our own.
Colossians 1:15-17 (NLT)
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.
Romans 12:4-8 (NLT)
Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
1 Corinthians 12:14-27 (NLT)
Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
