Much Assembly Required
Rev. Tony Cooke
When Lisa and I first moved to Tulsa in June of 1979 (one week after we got married), I worked for a few months at a K-Mart in the toy department. During my brief time in that position, I was assigned to assemble some bicycles. I quickly recognized that wasn’t my greatest gift in life, but I followed the directions and made it happen.
The two pictures below tell a huge and important story. The un-assembled bicycle has all kinds of potential, but it cannot take you anywhere — the individual parts are not properly and meaningfully connected. Each individual part has potential, but that potential that will never be realized until all of the parts are connected according to the instructions and their inherent design.
What a wonderful result it is, though, when the parts come together. The bicycle is no longer a bunch of disconnected components, but an entire, functioning unit — now it can really do something!
The Bible admonishes believers… “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25 NKJV), but this involves more than just passively attending services. The previous verse states, “let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24 NKJV). In other words, productivity (or good works) are supposed to result from the assembling that we do.
The Bible never uses a bicycle analogy — they didn’t exit then. But Paul’s “body” illustration seems to parallel a modern-day bicycle metaphor.
Consider: “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love” (Ephesians 4:16 NLT). Paul also said “Our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it” (1 Corinthians 12:18 NLT).
Which of the above pictures represents our lives, not just individually, but corporately?
- Are you joined with others in serving God?
- Are you part of a team?
- Is someone else counting on you to do your part?
- Are you as vital to a team as the pedals or handlebars are to a bicycle?
- Does your contribution help make the team “go?”
Key Thought: A unified bicycle is not one where every part looks and functions identically. That’s uniformity, not unity. A bicycle has many different parts with diverse functions, but when each part is properly connected and functions according to its design, the bicycle works the way it is supposed to work.
I love Paul’s statement about Timothy: “But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel” (Philippians 2:22 NKJV). Many Christians will say, “Yes, I serve God,” but my question is, “Who are you serving God with? We can do so much more through partnership and teamwork than we ever could individually.
If you want to strengthen your team, check out our In Search of Timothy resources.
The Book – https://tonycooke.org/product/in-search-of-timothy/
The Workbook – https://tonycooke.org/product/in-search-of-timothy-workbook/
The Video Series – https://tonycooke.org/product/timothy-video-series-usb/
The E-Book – https://www.amazon.com/Search-Timothy-Tony-Cooke-ebook/dp/B004Y1OPVQ/ref=monarch_sidesheet
The Audiobook -https://www.audible.com/search?keywords=tony+cooke&k=tony+cooke&crid=1cdfeab4907347db851a7719ee684784&sprefix=tony+co%2Cna-audible-us%2C373&i=na-audible-us&url=search-alias%3Dna-audible-us&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
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