https://odb.org/2025/03/12/elephant-helpers
1 Corinthians 12:21–26 (NIV): 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
The amazing thing about the baby elephant in Kenya, who was attacked by hyenas and lost two-thirds of its trunk, was his acceptance by the elephants in the sanctuary. After his rescue, Long’uro fitted well into the community at the sanctuary because elephants innately know they need each other to survive. In the wild, predators like lions or hyenas will prey on the babies because they are the weakest, but the adults in the herd will go all out to protect them, and logically so as the infants are the future of the herd. This is especially so when the gestation period for an elephant foetus is 22 months. Every baby that is delivered is precious.
It was very clever of Paul to use the human body to illustrate the need for unity in the body of Christ in spite of its diversity. There were then Jews and Gentiles, free and slaves, Greek and Israelites, poor and rich, ordinary folks like Peter and John and religious scholars like Paul. Anyone who has lost a little part of his body will know that we are never the same after the loss. Even a small toe will affect our balance in walking. It will be tough to play the guitar if we have lost one finger at either hand. A person who lost his vision in one eye can’t drive anymore as the human body needs both eyes to judge distance. We may survive with one kidney, but our lives will be severely impaired. There is a specific function for every part of our human body, whether seen or unseen. If we go for orthodontic treatment when young, the orthodontist will usually extract 4 of our teeth. But as we grow older, losing teeth will drastically lessen our ability to chew, and as much as advancements in dentistry allow tooth implants, it is still dependent on our jawbone density, which reduces as we age.
In any church, even in racially homogeneous ones, there are bound to be different types of worshippers. There will be the older ones and the very old as well as little ones. In the middle, there will be school going youths, followed by college going ones and young working adults. Then there will be young couples, some who may be having children already, and so on. Some couples like my wife and I, our children, have already grown up and graduated from university and are either looking to enter the workforce or are already working. There are worshippers from various economic backgrounds and sectors. There are doctors, engineers, teachers, and those doing business. The challenge is to be united in our pursuit of spirituality and knowledge of God and our Lord Jesus Christ despite our differences. We all want to fulfil God’s plans and purposes for our lives. We want to live out His calling for our lives at the opportune season. We want to be in the centre of His will and be a part of what He is doing in our midst.
It is my prayer for us today that we will be like elephants who innately know that we need one another to survive and succeed in our spiritual walk. That we will help and encourage each other to remain in our lane in the narrow path of righteousness that leads to eternal life despite our differences in background, social status, and financial capabilities. We are a diverse bunch and yet united in spirit and purpose because the Holy Spirit dwelling in each and every one of us. All praise, glory, and honour be unto our Lord Jesus Christ!
Ronnie's Thoughts 