This was written as part of a writing challenge I participated in to stretch my writing:  Five Minute Friday’s 31 DAYS OF FIVE MINUTE FREE WRITES. This is spontaneous writing in only 5 minutes. The word for the day was “Different.”

“Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to Him with ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy.” Psalm 33:2-3

It was a gorgeous, sunny and breezy South Florida day, just the type of day you’d want to spend outside. It had stormed for the last two days, and when we awoke to sunny skies that morning, we were grateful. 

My husband and his band were the first band to take the stage at the outdoor jazz brunch. Food trucks and vendors with colorful canopies lined the streets and the parking lots, selling all kinds of food, beverages, arts and crafts, and tropical plants.

The crowd appreciated their type of music: jazz fusion, an eclectic blend of jazz, rock, funk, and Latin styles. Familiar songs with unexpected twists. The musicians skillfully came together as one unit… a blend of different backgrounds, cultures, and sounds as diverse as the music they played. Their unique style drew sizeable crowds of appreciative listeners.

Each musician used their gift and their finely honed skills to create exciting compositions that many had never heard before.

That’s what it’s supposed to be like for believers in Jesus. We are all part of one body, His body, and when we all work together, each contributing our own gifts and skills, we can function as intended. 

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers live in harmony!” Psalm 133:1

If you are a believer, you have a part, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. We need each and every part. Each is unique and placed exactly where it is supposed to be, just like the musicians on the stage.

Put your gifts in the Master’s hands and watch what He will do.

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function, so in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another. We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If one’s gift is prophecy, let him use it in proportion to his faith; if it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” Romans 12:4-8

“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in various tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who apportions them to each one as He determines. The body is a unit, though it is comprised of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with Christ.” 1 Corinthians 12:7-12