"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace" - 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV).

There is a saying as clockwork as a human body. In its pure form the body is a majestic creation by the eternal God made up of different parts each one performing a task of supreme value. Left on their own none is of much use. Only when joined together is there a symmetry that puts every life in motion.

The Apostle Paul alluded to this in his letter to the church in Corinth which was splintering on egoistic trips of who is the greatest. A feeling of superiority had cropped up based on individual gifting. Gently, he urged the unity of believers, pointing out, "Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ" (1 Corinthian 12:1).

Why would one be gifted with singing as another is with teaching! The answer is to build the church. "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance" (vv 27-28). The multiplicity of gifts which are being used in the service of God's work is what makes a great church.

The mistake so often made is when rather than focusing on this simple truth, of using our different set of gifting for building the church, rivalry and all its ills of envy sets in, ultimately causing grievous harm to the body, to a point of death. Such should never happen. Let us use our gifts harmoniously to build the church.

Prayer for today: Lord Father God of heaven and earth, as you have blessed each believer with a gift, may our individual focus be on how to use the various individual gifts for the building of the church.