300 and the Church

  These thoughts have been bouncing around for a while, so I figured I would post them:

I watched 300 for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I know, I'm behind the times. Chalk it up to being out of the country for a semester. Anyway, I watched 300 and as the first battle scene came across the screen (type in 300 and first battle into youtube if you haven't seen the movie, since my link application is being fickle) and the first thing that popped into my head was 1 Cor 12. Oh the life of a religion major. Really though, I've been bombarded by this idea recently that we all need to start reading more spiritually, that is we need to read scripture and other books with the mindset that God is trying to speak to us. I didn't realize how long I had actually been doing that already. Because when you read spiritually then you see the application of what you read everywhere. It goes along with being able to give an account of the faith you have. Anyway, I'm watching this movie and my thoughts go to 1 Cor 12.

   In the scene the Spartans all clump together for battle and move in exact movements, always as a unit. Each man holds their shield to protect the man on the right side of him. Each individual move they made was for the good of the unit. Each man had his own strength, his own unique gifts, and his own training that he brought to the army as a whole. But even with these unharnesses and there expressions, in battle the Spartans still fought under one unified mantra "for Sparta" At the end of the battle the other army stood decimated while the Spartans have no casualties. 

   And I couldn't help but ask what if the church functioned like this? Are we even capable of moving that in sync? What if we unified ourselves "under God" and let each person bring their own gifts to the Church?

  1 Cor 12 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. Toe one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, t another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were baptized by one Spirit into one body - whether Jews of Greeks, salve of free - and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 

Verses 4 - 14. 

    When are we going to stop comparing ourselves to others? I feel like when we don't recognize our own unique gifts we end up bashing someone else out of jealousy. When are we going to start to recognize how we each individually fit into this bigger picture that isn't about us.  I know shocking. It's about God's mission. It's about the Triune God being gracious enough to choose us to carry out his ministry on earth through the Church. Yet, the Spartans understood the idea of unity through diversity for their concept of battle then we do for the concept of ministering.