BRUSH OF EQUALITY

The Lord kept me awake tonight, so I guess I shall write.

Where there is equality, there first requires justice. Many of us bring up questions of fairness; how one individual's life might be much more blessed than another individual's life, how one person may be suffering in poverty and another dwelling within the richness of Western lifestyles. Or how about equality within the church? One person is seen as the pastor - the spiritual shepherd of the church given much more authority and highly respected, while another is seen as the young teenager who is less seen as a spiritual role model, but more assumed as a stereotypical immature child who has barely a voice in the church. Let us examine equality amongst the body of Christ, the body of believers. This is the word of the Lord:

"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body."
1 Corinthians 12:12-20 ESV

There is definitely much familiarity with this passage, but let's angle it in a unique perspective. How does the body work? Only that each take their own part. There is no single emphasis on the eye being much more important than the ear, or the ear being much more important that the nose, neither is there that unbalanced importance with the arms or the legs or the butt; none at all. The elders are the eyes, they provide us the vision, the youth are the legs, they walk in growth through the vision given, the young adults may be the arms, serving and offering to us freely, and so on. Let me not make this sound absolute, for it is only an interpretation.

Much of the Word preaches on the topic of equality in this way and I have no doubt that the Lord's symbolism of equality is illustrated in the Bible through the characters of the Bible; to be more specific, not just many of the characters of the Bible for many does not make a whole, but all of the characters, for the schema of equality can only be spoken of when the community as a whole is referred to. To edge out some of the major characters, let's take Elijah and Elisha(1 Kings 17 - 2 Kings 13) as a sense for our depiction; for a specific purpose: that it seems to be the most radical of them all, although we can only radicalize in our perspectives because radical is exclusively a human term(this can be explained in further discussions possibly if time permits). Simply, Elijah was a man of God, referred to sometimes as "the man of God" without his name included; it could be implied that all knew who these words referred to for there were not many of them; Elisha is comparatively referred to in the same sense when succeeding Elijah. What Elijah had done in vivid humility and full desire to exalt the Lord was humanely radical! He represented the Lord in the destruction of idolatry within the nation of Israel for a time and was the Lord's healing hands as he was in desperation before the Lord. The Lord saw his heart. Elijah is spoken of often because the Lord ascended him to the heavens with heavenly horses and chariots, giving me almost the imagery of a light-speed tornado. And he was the only.

An occurrence of this sort forces people to think, why Elijah? What made him different? And this leads me to think, can we judge this? The unhesitating approach is first 'maybe', but to be straightforward, it is 'NO!'; at least not in a very specific sense. Elisha asked Elijah for "a double portion of Elijah's spirit"(2 Kings 2) for him if Elijah so leaves him. And as illustrated, this was magnificently evident for us readers. Elisha worked miracles and was a vessel to the word of the Lord. Yet he died in sickness as he grew older, nothing as supernatural as Elijah; he never got taken up early. Then we say, what is the difference with his life and Elijah's? Wasn't it more fruitful, by two-folds if I may? See, and not only Elisha's closely compared life, how about David's? The man after God's own heart? He died in old age watching the fighting between two sons for the throne, although they did settle peacefully to some extent. And Paul? He basically set out half the New Testament; why was it not Peter, the man considered the leader of the disciples? Why a man referred to as the "13th" apostle who persecuted Jews before being, again, radically, saved? God's equality cannot merely be judged in our humane eyes and humane perspectives. Did the Lord judge on how righteous Elijah was to pick him? Clearly not for scripture shows many who were righteous, possibly even more righteous. The Lord does not play favoritism. We do not know the way the Lord judges; for his word says in Isaiah 40:28, 'his understanding is unsearchable.' You can see that it is merely the plans of the Lord that determines our path, the sovereignty of the Lord that determines our prosperity, our blessings. God's perfect justification that ultimately determines our role.

We need to be a people who desire to play our role, for when we do not endure the work God has set out for us, we are the ones that cause the divisions, not the church. If we are legs, but desire to be the visions, that is surely more or less impossible; we will stumble the body and there will be no walking and further growth - we become the reason for the ineffectiveness of the vision, whereas the arms is of no use as well. And if the eyes decide to sleep on us, denying their responsibilities, we have no guide and will likely stumble. Now let's view this in a global perspective; this is what we call the church with the capital C, the global church. Worldwide disciples in Christ Jesus are to be in unity as a body of Christ representing Christ as redeeming hands in our respected places. Whether in poverty or in wealth, we are given a part to play. This is why the Lord said:

"For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me."
Matthew 26: 11 ESV

The poor is part of the body just as the rich is! What is equality then? Because a God of perfection, a God who cannot sin, certainly will not play favoritism, for the Bible preaches against it. Then certainly, the presence of both rich and poor, third world and first world countries, is not what defines equality! Equality comes that each of us are playing our role as part of the whole; that there is the eye, and that there is the feet, and that there is the nose, and so on. God arranged each member of the body, each as he chose; this done undeniably in perfect equality. We as those within the wealthy nations are called truly to give freely out of our wealth that we could live as incarnate Christians. Just as mentioned before, a call to distribution; that when we function, that is when we become unified, and when we become unified is when we live in equality, and in equality is how God desires for us to be justified. We have to realize that we, whether seen as a church or seen as a nation or seen globally or seen in a household family have dwelt in our pride for too long. The moment there is humility, there will be realization of what our roles are; this will be the day when equality will be catalyzed in the fullest extent. So then I shall start with myself.

I am the reason for the inequality Jesus. I am the reason for the body's stumbling because I am not being the desired steward for the role I've been given to play. Would you pour upon me your Spirit of healing, your Spirit of realization, your Spirit of perfect humility, that I may recognize and serve, and be called and qualified as a vessel of unity. Teach me to be watchful and thankful in devoted prayer. And help me to first see the log in my own eye clearly before I see the speck in my brother's eye. Jesus, let your fulfillment take place; I will hope, I will believe, I will see.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Amen