I have recently begun to work with a coach to help me with strength training since my body is so out of shape. One thing I have noticed after each workout session is that I can feel soreness in certain areas of my body a day or two later. That pain, that ache is my body telling me which part of it is the weakest and needs some special attention to become stronger. So my coach has helped me to focus on exercises that help those areas of concern to become better and more useful to me in my daily living.
This makes me think about what the Bible tells us about the Body of Christ:
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. —Romans 12:21-26
As with our own physical body, we as the Body of Christ work together to help and support each other for the good of the whole body. So if a fellow Christian is going through pain of any kind, we exercise our caring muscles to bring them relief. If another Christian is feeling weak, we stretch out our hands to encourage them with the message that we each can be strong in the Lord in the role that he has given us to advance the Body’s abilities. Be a blessing today to the members of the Body of Christ around you, and give them a leg up, if you will. The Body of Christ will be better for it.