Accept Your Importance

This post is by Shari Gabourel.

Okay. Humor me for a moment.

In the event you are one of those intellects who knows the responses to this pop quiz, I ask you to trek along as I attempt to challenge us on the subject of human anatomy. 

What are Venae cavae?

What is Cerumen?

Do you know what the accessory lacrimal glands are?

If you are like me and did not readily know the meaning of each medical term, don’t allow yourself to feel any other way but uninformed. 

The venae cavae (Latin for "hollow veins”) are two large veins that return deoxygenated blood from the body into the heart.  It has two parts: the superior vena cava and the inferior vena cava. The superior vena cava carries blood from the head, neck, arms, and chest. The inferior vena cava carries blood from the legs, feet, and organs in the abdomen and pelvis. It is the largest vein in the body.

Cerumen is known by the unattractive term we refer to as earwax. The exact recipe for earwax requires a good dose of body secretions made up mostly of skin cells and sweat. Cerumen is important because it is produced by the ear to clean and protect itself. It is secreted by glands in the skin that line the outer half of your ear canals. The wax and tiny hairs in these passages trap dust and other foreign particles that could damage deeper structures, such as your eardrums. 

The accessory lacrimal glands are a small, mucous accessory found underneath the eyelid where the upper and lower conjuctivae meet. The function of these glands is to produce tears.

The preceding survey was not intended to shame you for not knowing the correct answers. To the contrary! The insight should serve as valuable. 

Here’s why. 

Our lack of knowledge about certain anatomy doesn’t negate the fact that distinct anatomical parts truly exist. And not only do they exist, but they are also of great significance.

The same can be said for your role in the body of Christ.

I would like to encourage you to read 1 Corinthians 12:12 through 31. Read the passage closely and thoughtfully. Read it as though you are one of the “parts” being spoken to directly. 

Pause and linger on verse 18:

But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be (New International Version). 

After you download and process your predestination, reread verses 22-24. And then finally, read aloud verse 25.

 25 so that there should be NO DIVISION in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other [emphasis added] (NIV).

…No division in the body.

God, help us with that. 

Perhaps you know of someone who suffers from an autoimmune disease. You understand how disabling and vicious such a disease can be.

Can you imagine members of the body of Christ—those who have been:

Called—invited by name (Eph. 4:1) 

Chosen—selected, picked out (Eph. 1:4)

Justified—pardoned and and pronounced righteous (Rom. 5:1), 

and…

Sanctified—separated from the irreverent and purified internally by the renewing of the soul…

Can you imagine any part of the Lord’s body behaving in a manner that appears divided and possibly destructive to another? 

Or to think your superior vena cava would choose to be divided from other dependent organs, effectively disrupting certain bodily functions and rendering you incapacitated. 

Such a situation would be critical.

Whatever “part” of the body you are, accept your importance and responsibility. You have been called and chosen and set in place exactly where God would have you to be. 

Just as the Venae cavae, cerumen, and the lacrimal gland have their role, so do you. 

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 (Eph. 4:16 NIV).

Shari Gabourel is a Generation Xer and a retiree, who is squeamishly homeschooling her two Gen Z daughters. She holds a B.S. in Business Management. While earning a Certificate in Christian Ministry from The King’s Seminary, she had the unforgettable privilege of studying abroad at the historic Oxford University. Her husband and daughters recently relocated from Southern California to North Carolina. As her family adjusts to the Southeastern region of the U.S., Shari continues her love of writing and studying the Word of God. When she’s not composing, she and her family enjoy a few rounds of playing Uno while eating Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream.

Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash