Title:  Body of Christ

Francois Sieberhagen

Christ is like a single body, which has many parts; it is still one body, even though it is made up of different parts.  1 Corinthians 12:12

The Word Riders, motorcyclists riding under the auspices of Bible Society of South Africa, visited the Pabalelo primary school in Upington earlier this year.  When the 15 motorcycles entered the school grounds, the excitement was clearly visible.  The children laughed and talked with much excitement.  It is not every day that they receive such extraordinary visitors.

The Gr. 7 pupils received their Outreach Bibles and the members of the Word Riders chatted with interest and enjoyed their interaction with the learners.  The children were truly grateful and happily returned to their classrooms.  I quickly slipped in, with camera on hand into one of the classrooms.

What I witnessed amazed me.  The classroom was in silence!  The children all sat at their desks, busy reading their Bibles and the supplementary material they had received, highly intrigued by the contents.

I suddenly saw the bigger picture.  These children are important.  They are part of the body of Christ, maybe destitute but each an important part.  I tried to capture this on camera realising that in future they will all fulfil their role as a part of the body of Christ.

When we left many members of the group shared that this had had an impact on them because one part of Christ’s body could reach out and be of help to the other.

What will these young children remember of their meeting with these peculiar strangers that visited and crossed their path?  We can only hope that they will realise that as members of Christ’s body, we reached out to one another with love and respect.

As Christians we are inseparable parts of Christ’s body, no matter where we are or who we are.  Let’s make sure it is evident in our actions every single day.

Prayer: Dear Lord, even though I may feel as if I am the most unimportant part of your body, please use me in your service.  Amen.