I cut my finger on a chainsaw. Now that I have your attention I can tell you that it was one of those small chainsaws that is powered by a battery. Furthermore, the saw wasn’t even on at the time—I was pulling the plastic over off the blade when I sliced my little finger on the chain. (The good news is that I can assure you the chain is very sharp).
The cut was probably deep enough to get some stitches but I figured by the time I cleaned up and made it down to the clinic and saw someone, it would have stopped bleeding, wouldn’t look so bad, and I’d have wasted the other half of a Saturday morning. So I just cleaned it out and bandaged it and went on.
It took a couple of weeks to heal. It might have been quicker but I re-opened it a week later when I was trimming some bushes and pulled a little too hard when extracting some stubborn branches. Aside from that though, I treated it like a baby. What was interesting was I didn’t realize how much I used my little finger. You might think it’s not that important but when you can’t use it for a couple of weeks you might be surprised how much you miss it.
For example whenever you grip something, you’re little finger pitches in and provides support. The best way to describe it is that it provides extra stabilization so you have an increased sense of confidence and security about your grip. Without that pinkie it just doesn’t feel exactly right.
Then there’s showering. I held my hand up in the air so I wouldn’t get my finger wet. I quickly found out how much I missed that second hand. And there were lots of other things like that. In short, I have a new appreciation for my little finger that I never had before.
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12 it’s exactly this way in the body of Christ. He likens the church to a body with different parts performing different functions. Paul argues that not only is each part important, but their placement in the body isn’t arbitrary—they are exactly where God wants them (v. 18). All of this should make us more appreciative of our brothers and sisters (as well as the wisdom of God).
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 