Lessons Learned on Safari: The Body

We recently took a trip to Kenya for a meeting with others in our area. We decided to add a safari onto the end of our trip. I mean, when in Rome, right?! We took game drives in the morning and evenings. During the evening game drives we noticed many different species of animals gathering together to eat in an open grassy field. We asked our guide about it and he said that they gather together to protect each other from the predators. He explained how each species is good at something. One has a good sense of smell, the other good vision, the other can make a loud warning sign, and some can sense movement through their feet. As we sat there and watched, it became a beautiful picture of the Body of Christ.

"For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, 'Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,' it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, 'Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,' it is not for this reason any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired."

1 Corinthians 12:14-18

We are each given specific gifts for the purpose of creating one body. God provided us with this visual while we were on the safari. It could not have been a more perfect moment. His Creation so perfectly displayed how we as a church work together to encourage each other, support each other, teach, preach, and share the Gospel among the nations. Praise God that we are not expected to do everything, but we can work together to get the job done.