Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 with your family.

A very important person in the early church named Paul, wrote a letter to his friends in the city of Corinth in Greece. They were arguing about something and Paul was trying to explain to them how the Christian family was supposed to get along. He used the image of a body with all our different parts as examples of people being different from each other but still needing to work together.

The city of Corinth was mostly Greek people, and some Greeks joining the Hebrews in worshipping Jesus. There were rich people and poor people, there were slaves owned by the rich, and free people who could make their own decisions. There were people with all different skin tones, and from different places. Paul wanted to remind them that in God’s eyes, they were all the same and should act like family.

Paul also talked about the gifts that people had, and how everyone was part of the work of the church, no matter what they did or couldn’t do. Not everyone was supposed to be a teacher, he said. Some were supposed to manage the money, others were supposed to care for the sick, and others were to spread the word of Jesus. But ALL of them were to work together.

That goes for our churches today as well. We all need to work together and respect each others differences. That was one of Jesus’ most important lessons: that everyone was equally part of the family of God, and part of the body of the church.