Thomas’s Toe

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-26

Thomas stretched, yawned, and turned off the alarm. For several minutes he argued with himself. One voice in his head said, Get up. It’s time for church. Another voice said, Why not skip it? Your parents don’t go. Sleep a little longer. In the end, the wrong voice won. “No one will care,” Thomas mumbled as he pulled the blanket over his head. “I doubt anyone notices if I’m there or not.”

At recess the next day, Thomas tripped over a stump and broke a toe. “Owww!” he moaned as the doctor checked it out. “It hurts so bad!”

Dr. Bradford nodded. “It will hurt for a while, but it will heal just fine. Give it time.”

When Thomas went to the mall with his mom on Saturday, he saw his Sunday school teacher there. While Mom paid for the things she was buying, Thomas and Mr. Wallace talked.

“I see you’re limping. Did you hurt your foot?” asked Mr. Wallace. “Is that why you weren’t at church last week?”

“I broke my toe on Monday,” Thomas answered. “I didn’t come Sunday because…well, I just figured I wouldn’t be missed anyway.”

“Oh, you were missed,” said Mr. Wallace. “The kids wondered if you were sick. They prayed for you.”

“Really?” Thomas asked.

“Really,” Mr. Wallace replied. “When you’re absent, there’s a big gap in our class.” He pointed to Thomas’s foot. “Your toe isn’t very big, but when you broke it, did it just bother that one toe, or did it affect your whole body?”

“For a couple of days, I couldn’t do much at all,” Thomas said. He laughed. “Dad said I acted like I broke my back.”

“So it affected your whole body,” said Mr. Wallace with a smile. “It’s like that with Christians too. Together we make up the body of Christ—the church. Each one of us is important, even those who may think they’re the little toe. When one member hurts, we all hurt.” He patted Thomas’s arm. “You are important to our class, Thomas. Don’t ever forget that.”

Thomas grinned. “I won’t, Mr. Wallace. My toe won’t let me. For a while, every step I take will remind me. See you tomorrow morning.” (Barbara J. Westberg)

How About You?

Do you know someone who feels unimportant and needs encouragement? Every Christian is a member of the body of Christ, and each one of us is important. As we pray for one another and share in others’ joys and sorrows, we encourage each other in our faith and remind one another of the love of Jesus. Don’t neglect getting together with other Christians. You need them, and they need you.

Today’s Key Verse:
Romans 12:5 We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. (NLT)

Today’s Key Thought:

Each Christian is important