Feet Needs Hands

From My Family to Yours

One of the ladies’ Bible Studies at Frisco First this semester is on Ephesians 6:10-18, the armor of God.  Now, I have to admit that when I heard that this was the topic, I was thinking, “been there, done that”, but I trust Christy to bring fresh light, and the Word is active and alive, so I anticipated finding something new.  And I did. In fact, I’ve gotten stuck on the first verse in the study.

“Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.” Eph. 6:10

Our group started talking, “How are we strong?” In the Lord and in His strength.

Okay. To be in the Lord is to have faith in Him and practice abiding in Him through prayer and Bible reading/ study. But where do we find His strength?

Seemingly off-topic, a lady at my table was talking about the support and encouragement she received from other believers through meals brought to her family.  And then something clicked.  My mind raced from Ephesians to First Corinthians!

In Chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians, Paul uses the analogy of a person’s body to illustrate the different roles individual believers play within the church. “If the foot says, ‘I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,’ does that make it any less a part of the body?” (1 Cor 12:15) 

I’ve always seen the point of this analogy to be “you do you”, which is valid. It keeps me from wanting to fit my Christian brothers and sisters into a box and affords me some slack when a ministry isn’t just my thing, and that’s good. (Ask any of the kids who were in fifth-grade choir the year someone convinced me to help!) But feet shouldn’t compare themselves to hands. That will lead to either pride, “I’m so much better at running than that hand over there! She can’t even support the body long enough to walk, let alone run!” Or it will make me feel less-than. “Look at how easily the hand turns the knob to open that door! It would take me all day to do that! I’m a failure!”

Feet are often taken for granted. They get stuffed into shoes to do a lot of hard work and deserve every massage and pedicure they get.

Hands get a lot of glory with those opposable thumbs separating humans from animals and all, but, truth be told, they are often given more than their share of the grunt work! (Do I need to mention cleaning toilets?) So, yes, extra lotion and a manicure for y’all!

But let’s get back to the strength of the Lord. Where do I find physical strength?  In my body, right?  Different parts of my body have varying strengths.  Let’s not use me for the example, though, because this grandma’s body just isn’t the best visual. Think of a soccer player for a minute.  Her foot has the strength to kick a ball across the field and into the goal, but she’s not going to be able to utilize that strength if her hands haven’t put on and laced up her cleats.  Athletes can do amazing things, but I’m pretty sure that no one can lace a shoe using only the foot that the shoe is covering. 

True strength comes when hands and feet, along with all the other parts of the body, work together. Only then can the individual function the way she was created to function. Only when each member of the church is actively using their gifts and talents can she complete the work God has ordained for her.

I pray that God will help us each to find our individual strengths and weaknesses and that we would be able to accept the strengths and weaknesses of others without jealousy or judgment. I pray that we would have the eyes to see when others would benefit from what we can do and then the courage to step up and do it. I know this is hard for most women, but I pray that we would be comfortable enough with each other to ask for help and then to accept it gracefully.  I pray that we would be strong in the Lord and on the strength of His might!