1 Corinthians 12:18 - Members of the Body

But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.

1 Corinthians 12:19

The passage leading up to this likens each person in the church to a part of the body of Christ and establishes that all are important and necessary - we shouldn't be mourning the fact that we aren't an eye or a foot or whatever part of the body we want to be. Not every person in the church is meant to be a missionary or a singer or an up front person who typically receives a lot of recognition for whatever they do. 

God knows each person and gives them a calling and a purpose that is theirs. Some people have humble callings, things that they or we may never know were important until we see that person being rewarded in heaven for being faithful to the task they were called to do. Each act of obedience and worship creates a ripple effect of fruitfulness that there is no possible way for us to discern from of limited perspective here on earth.

This is really encouraging. After prayer and seeking God's direction, if we faithfully do whatever God calls us to do at any given moment, we are pleasing Him and making a difference in eternity. Seeking his will is not that hard. We start with the Bible, move out in to a more specific area where we are gifted and passionate, and then get to it.

One thing that is difficult in churches sometimes, is dealing with others. We often don't understand others' perspectives or feel that what they are doing is not important when, in fact, we, again, do not have a qualified perspective to judge what a given person is doing for Christ at a given point in time. 

1 Corinthians 4:6 says:

Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

We may not always perfectly understand or appreciate the people we rub shoulders with from Sunday to Sunday, but the fact of the matter is that GOD has placed them in the body for reasons of His own. If we find ways of empathizing with each other, of putting ourselves into each others shoes and appreciating the gifts that each person possesses, we will become more effective for the cause of Christ and bring more glory to Him.