The Bodies of The Body

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 11)

It is amazing how often we pluck verses out of context. Like here: Verses 1 and 2 are some of the most preached on, memorized, and applied in scripture, yet we stop there and come back later to verses 3 through 8 as a separate and somewhat unrelated study. But the word "for" which begins verse 3 says otherwise. We are to live holy lives in our bodies because we are part of the Body of Christ. We are not the lead in the play; Christ is. We are not performing a one-act show; we are part of the biggest production on earth. Each one of us is important to God, but not all important. We each have the possibility of making the Body function fully, or infecting the thoughts, words, attitudes and actions of the Body by individually sinning in our bodies and minds. So let's be the Body in our bodies, and in our thoughts, and in our motives. Let us all be all in, serving the LORD and one another generously, zealously, and cheerfully.