A couple of years ago, my church’s worship pastor invited me to write a program for our Christmas Eve service. I had an idea in mind, and to my surprise and delight, when I sat down to work on it, I felt like I was receiving a download from Heaven. As I typed, words poured out so quickly that I felt more like I was transcribing than writing. The result was a compilation of four narratives on God’s faithfulness to fulfill His promises written from four perspectives: Zechariah, Mary, a Shepherd, and Simeon.
Later, the worship team composed some instrumentals to complement the script, and four church members volunteered to read the parts of the four Bible characters. When we performed our creation on Christmas Eve, it was truly moving. Afterward, as I contemplated the experience, I was struck with the power of collaboration. Though God entrusted me with the words I had written, I couldn’t have made them come fully alive on my own. Without the music and the voices, the words I wrote were one dimensional, but when we worked together as writers, readers, and musicians, we created a work of beauty that exalted Jesus.
In 1 Corinthians 12:7, Paul says, “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other” (NLT). He goes on to explain how, just as the human body functions best when each part does what it was designed to do, so it is with the body of Christ. We all have different roles to play, and only when we each play our part does the church become fully functional.
Just as I couldn’t bring my Christmas composition to life on my own, none of us can fulfill our potential in isolation. We need each other to fully express what God has put in us.
How are you collaborating with others to display God’s beauty and bring glory to Jesus?
