Missing Limb

I am not pulling your leg. I promise.

A biker was enjoying a fun ride with a group of friends in Hamamatsu city, Japan. When he was making a sharp turn on a curve, he skidded and bumped into the central safety barrier of the road. He felt excruciating pain. But he did not even stop to take a look. He just kept on riding.

At the next junction, more than a mile later, one of his friends stopped him and frantically pointed to his right leg. Believe it or not, his leg had been severed just below the knee! He actually failed to notice his missing limb. Both the man and the leg were rushed to the hospital. But, according to Yahoo! News, “the limb had been crushed in the collision”.

You may be asking, “How can one fail to notice that his leg was accidentally cut off?” But, let us look from a spiritual perspective: “Have you ever noticed anyone missing from the worship service lately?” Romans 12:5 says, “…in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (NIV) We belong to each other. Thus, we must care for one another.

Are we concerned when someone who used to sit in the pew nearby no longer shows up in church? Or, do we ever notice that at all? First Corinthians 12:25-26 adds, “…there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”

May I ask a favor from you? Help us follow-up our people. They appreciate it more when fellow members check on them. When I text, call or visit people, some may assume (wrongly, of course) that I am just doing my job. But when someone other than the pastor does that, they conclude that our church is a caring fellowship. We should look after each other.

Brethren, let us stop and see if we are missing a limb.