Christ is like a single body, which has many parts; it is still one body, even though it is made up of different parts. In the same way, all of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free, have been baptized into the one body by the same Spirit, and we have all been given the one Spirit to drink.

For the body itself is not made up of only one part, but of many parts. If the foot were to say, "Because I am not a hand, I don’t belong to the body," that would not keep it from being a part of the body. And if the ear were to say, "Because I am not an eye, I don’t belong to the body," that would not keep it from being a part of the body. If the whole body were just an eye, how could it hear? And if it were only an ear, how could it smell? As it is, however, God put every different part in the body just as he wanted it to be. There would not be a body if it were all only one part! As it is, there are many parts but one body.

1 Corinthians 12:12-20

Someone needs to talk to you today. Are you willing to listen? It may be a deep confession of failure, an expression of faith, an old joke, or a comment about the weather, but it needs to be said. The person may be a child or a senior citizen. Are you ready to lend an ear? Listening is not the job of a talented few but the privilege and responsibility of us all. Someone needs to tell you something. Are you ready and willing, for Jesus’ sake, to lend an ear?

A big part of loving is listening.

Our Daily Bread – March 31, 2003