Whenever things get a little bit difficult she will always jokingly say, "There must be a piece missing."

1 Corinthians 12:1-31

Reference:  v.14  Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. (NIV Bible)

Explore:  Each year our family does a jigsaw puzzle.  After the Christmas table is cleared, my mother will bring out her newest puzzle and start to put all the pieces together.  Anyone is welcome to help as she seperates the puzzle in to piles of edge pieces and varying colours.  Whenever things get a little bit difficult she will always jokingly say, "There must be a piece missing."  But as we continue on we will find the piece that she was looking for in another pile or on the other side of the table.  But there is nothing more frustrating than putting all the pieces of a jigsaw together to find that there really is a piece missing.  Thinking that the piece may have fallen on the floor we search high and low.  But when the piece is not found we are left unsatisfied, as the puzzle is not complete.  No matter how we look at the puzzle we are always drawn to that hole in the picture.  The puzzle is useless and is to be thrown away.

Application:  Every single person plays an important role in God's kingdom.  We all have different gifts and abilities.  Like the jigsaw puzzle, we all have different shapes, sizes and colours.  But when we join together with other people and let our gifts shine then we can make a beautiful picture together.  Sometimes we can hide our gifts away because we've been hurt in the past or we don't feel our gift is significant.  Sometimes we will only use our gift for personal gain and not to contribute to the wider community.  And sometimes we will recognise we have a gift but decide to put it aside and not discipline ourselves to refine it.  When these things happen it is like losing a piece to the bigger puzzle.  We are not complete and neither are the people around us.  God has given us many things, and while He doesn't demand us to, the puzzle looks best when we are all shining our gifts for His glory.

Prayer:  Lord, thank you for the gifts you have given us.  May we find our place in the puzzle so that we may give glory and honour to You.  Amen.

What are some of the gifts God has given you?  How do they fit into a bigger puzzle?