I came home from work today and my wife was watching Oprah. She was talking to all the Olympic athletes (Oprah, not my wife), and although I missed Michael Phelps, this was something I was hoping that he would mention:
What Michael repeatedly acknowledged in media interviews is so true. He could not have won eight gold medals by himself. He needed the help of so many others. Before his historic and final race, an article in the New York Times said, “Michael Phelps’s attempt to win eight gold medals will not be totally under his control at the Beijing Games… As everyone knows by now, Phelps’s shot at eight golds would have ended Monday morning if Jason Lezak had not completed an astonishing anchor leg in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay.”
His quest also would have ended in a loss to Milorad Cavic, of Serbia, in his seventh win, if it had not been for technology. The human eye could not, in real time, see what the electronic touch pads confirmed in 1/100th of a second. Nor could the subsequent Serbian protest have been resolved without the additional video and timing reviews that allowed Olympic judges to confirm his win by watching the finish in frames and increments of 10/1000ths of a second.
An analogy can be made between this and the body of Christ. How could the church gather the tithes and offerings it needs to keep functioning financially without ushers to carry the plates? How could the worship band be heard without a sound and light crew? How could a prayer team spread a call to prayer without a telephone tree? How could Sunday School be taught without teachers and people who put together the curriculum? This is what Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 12.
To draw another parallel, I hope that as adult learners, you take some time today to honor and thank those who are in the background who are making your education possible. Maybe it’s a boss who signed off for the company to pay for your education (if so, what a HUGE blessing you have been given). Maybe it’s the spouse who watches your children while you’re in class or takes them out of the house for a while so you can study. Maybe it’s the project team you work with that encourages you or helps you to complete a task.
Maybe it’s even someone with an unpleasant attitude or someone who had a bad day and took it out on you… maybe it’s someone like that you’ve encountered somewhere along the line who still did their job and helped move you forward.
Such blessings that you have ought to be recognized and bring a feeling of thankfulness, because much as we Christians know we are blessed and thankful for the Savior dying on the cross for our sins so we could spend eternity with Him, we must do the same for the things that may seem mundane or that we take for granted.
