The Necessary, Unnecessary

If you have children you have no doubt found yourself sitting in the living room floor surrounded by a thousand little pieces, countless screws, nuts and bolts trying to discern directions that read more like an IRS tax return manual instead of anything that could be considered even remotely helpful to the task at hand. After many hours of work (and a prayer or two of repentance) you finally finish the project. Filled with joy and a sense of accomplishment you bring together those you love to display your masterpiece. As you proudly display the work that you accomplished with your own two hands—your mood of jubilation quickly comes to an end when your audience notices a small pile of various screws and other obviously unnecessary parts laying on the floor behind you. At least you thought they were unnecessary, I mean it “looks” like it’s supposed to, what’s the big deal…right? 

I would love to say that my experiences with the above scenario are few and far between, but with a seven and a two year old the stream of “some assembly acquired” toys seems never ending, and so too is my constant battle to make sure every piece is in its place. However, it never fails that there always seems to be some little piece that is left out. So I find myself thinking, really how important could this piece be. My wife is always quick to remind me that when the project in question will be carrying around our children, there are no unimportant parts. When it comes to their safety, she reminds me, it must be done right.

That’s the thing about my “projects” they always look good. The completed Power Wheels car looks just like the one on the box, and if not for the few left over pieces you would never know the difference. Except there is a difference. The company that produces these toys has a small army of very well trained engineers working on their toys to make sure they will be safe for children. They designed the toy to fit together in such a way, with all of the included and necessary pieces, that it should provide hours of not only fun, but safe entertainment. Who am I to overrule the judgment of such highly trained individuals, while I have my own collection of degrees I assure you that none of them are in mechanical engineering! So, I begin to slowly read through the instructions one more time, checking every step for the proper location for each of my “necessary-unnecessary” parts. Not until every piece has found its proper place will my wife deem my creation “assembled” and ready for use by our children.

It seems to me that a lot of churches are operating without all of the necessary pieces. Oh, they look put together, from the outside. It seems able to continue in the functions that God has created and designed it for, but something is missing. Sitting on the pews are a lot of “people pieces” that have been left out. Sometimes they have been simply overlooked by the leadership within the church, or even (and I wish that this weren’t true) overlooked by the church as unnecessary. It may be that the “pieces” themselves feel unnecessary or useless within the structure of the church. Whatever the case and despite what these people have been told or believe, they are essential…they are necessary to the operation of God’s creation. You see God is the “great engineer”. He has created His church to function in a specific way with a specific purpose, and while it may look like a church, and it may even be able to function in a way that we think is pretty productive, it will never be able to live up to its full potential while it still has missing parts.

It could be that you are one of those missing parts, that you feel that you have nothing to offer the church—His church. Maybe you have been told as much all of your life, that you have nothing to offer and that you are worthless, maybe even by people you trust and love. Let me assure you that you are not. Someone once told me that the true value of an item is never known until a price is actually paid for it. That is to say, the value is ascertained by what someone is willing to pay for it—you my friend have been bought for a very steep price. God valued you so much that He bought you with the life of His Son. He did not purchase you to sit on a pew and gather dust, but to be an essential piece of His plan, His purpose, His Church. 

Maybe you find yourself in the place of my wife, looking over what has been made and noticing the pieces that are missing. I pray that as you recognize these pieces that have been left out of wherever it is that you serve and that you would seek those pieces out— working diligently until you help them to realize their full potential…to help them realize that there is no such thing as an unnecessary part in the body of Jesus, that there are no unnecessary people in the Church. Then, and only then, will we reach our full potential and fulfill the purpose that God has for each of us and His Church.