Who Are You?

Years ago we watched with great interest as the Two World Trade Centers were being built.  At the time of their completion in 1973, the "Twin Towers" — the original 1 World Trade Center, at 1,368 feet (417 m); and 2 World Trade Center, at 1,362 feet (415 m) — were the tallest buildings in the world.  What was amazing was how deep and how special the foundation was.  Not only was it deep, but at the very bottom a very special technique was used, called a "bathtub" with a slurry wall to keep water from the Hudson River out. The slurry method selected by Port Authority's chief engineer, John M. Kyle, Jr., involved digging a trench, and as excavation proceeded, filling the space with a "slurry" mixture composed of bentonite and water, which plugged holes and kept groundwater out. When the trench was dug out, a steel cage was inserted and concrete was poured in, forcing the "slurry" out. It took fourteen months for the slurry wall to be completed. It was necessary before excavation of material from the interior of the site could begin.  It is a fascinating read if you google it.  The point is, without all of the amazing procedures and the foundation, the rest of the building could not stand.  But when you think of those amazing sky scrapers, you always marvel at their height and outside beauty, but no one thinks much of all the unseen support beams, structure, and foundation that enable the beauties to stand. 

It is so easy in today’s performance and glamor oriented culture to feel insignificant. It is also easy to look up to the various church stages and see extremely talented and gifted people minister in great anointing and maybe think how insignificant we are. Maybe we ask what are we doing?  But to Jesus, everyone is loved, cherished and just as important. He loves His body and loves to be with us. Most of us are not called to be up front, multi-talented, multi-gifted, or super-anointed.  All of us, however, are called to just be ourselves in Him. 

Paul in Corinthians says the body has many parts. Can all be a hand or an eye?  He said 15:18ff, “God has arranged the parts of the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be. On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and have given greater honor to the parts that lacked it.“  In other words, The face looks nice, but without the guts, it won’t be there. Muscular arms look great but without blood vessels, they couldn’t function. And there are other parts of the body that wouldn’t be appropriate to mention in this setting, without which, we would die. Use your imagination.

You are important. You are loved. You are valued - for who you are. You are not supposed to be someone else. And without you the others couldn’t do what they do. Thank God for anchors that hold ships in safety. Thank God for foundations that hold up the building. Thank God for the inner workings of our bodies that we can’t see, for without them, we couldn’t live. Who are you??