Lower Deck People

Welcome to today's edition of the Our Daily Bread devotional. Sheridan Voisey wrote today's reading, and he titled it Lower Deck People. A friend of mine works on a hospital ship called Africa Mercy, which takes free healthcare to developing countries. The staff daily serves hundreds of patients whose ailments would otherwise go untreated. TV crews who periodically board the ship point their cameras on its amazing medical staff who fix cleft pallets and reset club feet. Sometimes they go below deck to interview other crew members, but the work Mick does typically goes unnoticed. Mick, an engineer, admits being surprised about where he had been assigned to work, in the ship's sewage plant.

With up to 40,000 liters of waste produced each day, managing this toxic material is serious business. Without Mick tending its pipes and pumps, Africa Mercy's life-giving operations would stop. It's easy to apply those on the top deck of Christian ministry while overlooking those in the galleys below. When the Corinthians elevated those with extraordinary gifts above others, Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 reminded them that every believer has a role in Christ's work, and every gift is important, whether it's miraculous healing or helping others. In fact, the less prominent the role, the greater honor it deserves.

Are you a lower deck person? Then lift your head high. Your work is honored by God and indispensable to us all. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verses 12 through 14 and verses 21 through 27. So as to form one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free, and we were all given the one spirit to drink, even so the body is not made up of one part, but of many.

Now picking up at verse 21. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its part should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. Let's pray. Oh God, we're important to you. Thank you for noticing us whether others do or not. And it's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen.