Scripture for Today:  I Corinthians 12:17-18  “If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?  If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?  But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.”

I am not such a big fan of onions, although my husband is.  I do understand their health benefits and even how they can spice up a dish.  But I am annoyed when their odor makes me tear up or when my hands smell.

When we lived in Germany we helped our German friend cut pounds and pounds of onions for the “flammkuchen” or onion pizza sold at the village fair (Budenfest)  We found that after several hours of cutting, there is no more smell and no more tears!

Our verse for today talks about the sense of smell being important for the body.  In this chapter the Church is likened to a body made of differing parts.  All parts are needed for good health.  Each member of the body has an important role to play.  God is the One who decides what member we are and what role we are to play.

Some members of the body seem to get more recognition than others.  We look at each other and feel it unfair that the role of someone else is more visible.  But in fact, if we all had the same function in the church there would be chaos.  We need each other.

If I am a nose rather than the eye or the hand, than I need to be satisfied with that.  I want to serve Him faithfully in the role He has given.  Lord, keep me from an attitude that would “cut off the nose to spite the face!”

Scripture For Today:  Ephesians 4:32  “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has forgiven you.”

My husband enjoys taking his Mom to different museums and art galleries.  They especially enjoyed the exhibitions at the Huntington Library in California.  Their Modern Art section included this display of Brillo pads.

Brillo pads were invented when the shift was made from cast iron cookware to aluminum.  Their steel wool infused with soap was effective in removing  the black and restoring the shine.  In fact, the word “Brillo” calls to mind the word in French for “shine.”  (briller)  The only way a brillo pad can do its job is to rub, scrub and irritate the blackened residue until it is lifted off.   The result is clean and bright.

There are brothers and sisters in Christ who rub me the wrong way.  I love them better at a distance.  It may be that they have an annoying habit.  Perhaps, I do not appreciate the way they speak to me.  Whatever the reason, it is unavoidable.  Like the brillo pad, they irritate.

Our verse for today talks about what my attitude should be towards brothers and sisters in Christ.  Because of the Lord’s forgiveness and grace to me, I need to be gracious as well.  Tenderness should be what characterizes my demeanor.

I believe the Lord uses other believers to rub and irritate out of me what does not belong.  If I did not have to rub shoulders with difficult people,  opportunities to clean up and shine would be lost!  The Lord reveals the blackened bits in me through my relationships.  I am sure that I unknowingly play the role of that brillo pad in the lives of others as well!

Thank you Lord, that you want to shine through me!