“For the church is not a human society of people united by their natural affinities but the Body of Christ, in which all members, however different, (and He rejoices in their differences and by no means wishes to iron them out) must share the common life, complementing and helping one another precisely by their differences.“
C.S. Lewis, Letters of C.S. Lewis

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AUGUST 14, 2024

On March 24, 1936, the Associated Press released a news story about two law students attending the Chicago-Kent Law School. One was Thomas Howard Overton, 31, from Swanwick, Illinois. The other was Stanley Kasprzyk, 32, from Chicago, Illinois.

Overton was blind. He had lost his sight at age 20. Kaspryzk had lost both of his arms, in two different accidents, before he was 30.

The two met on their first day of classes when the armless Kasprzyk guided the blind Overton down a flight of stairs. When they reached the classroom, Kaspryzk couldn’t turn the knob to open the classroom door but Overton could.

A friendship soon developed. Overton could carry books but not read them. Kasprzyk could read books but not carry them. Overton related, “I take notes in class with a punch on a Braille form board,” he said. “Out of class Stanley reads to me and I transcribe my notes on a typewriter for him.”

When Overton was named the highest-ranking scholar in his class, he insisted that Kasprzyk share the credit.

This is a picture of how we should function in the body of Christ realizing that we will never be complete by ourselves and that each of us, with both our disabilities and God-given abilities, need to come together to support each other.

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Romans 12:16

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • When was the last time you needed help?
  • When have you offered help?
  • What are the benefits to the Body of Christ in helping or serving one another?

 

Church Reading Plan: Jeremiah 42; Psalms 18