Last week I stubbed my pinky toe, and my brain immediately knew it.

That toe is the smallest and farthest appendage from my head, yet it was not forgotten or neglected; the nerve endings from that extreme expanse sent a signal that my brain immediately registered and addressed.

What is true of our human bodies is true of the spiritual Body, though we tend to doubt it.

The first obstacle is accepting that we are even part of a Body; unity in Christ is a profound challenge for us, even though we are aware of passages like Ephesians 4:15-16:

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.  From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

We are called to be a connected Body, with Christ as the head, growing and building itself up in love, as each part does its work.  That call and process is a topic of discussion in and of itself.

Let’s assume that you are on board with this; there is a second obstacle that can bring doubt:

We can believe we are too small or far from Christ to be known and used by him.

Many in scripture have felt this, assuming that somebody more worthy should be chosen by God, or accepting that their hardships would go unnoticed because they were “the least of these.”  To their surprise, they were wildly mistaken; God saw them, loved them, and chose them, no matter how small or far they believed themselves to be.

We see this with David, who was a mere shepherd boy, the least of his brothers and initially deemed unworthy of consideration for kingship; yet God told Samuel to anoint him.  When intense trials overcame him, it was easy for David to believe God had forgotten him (Psalm 42:9); He had not.

Many of us have felt like the pinky toe of the Body of Christ, insignificant and as far as one can get from the Head; our usefulness to the Body seems questionable, and our struggles not worth addressing.  The reality is we are never forgotten nor neglected; we are never too small or far to be known by Christ.

By 2 Samuel 7, David has reached the height of contrast from seeming small and far as he finds himself a king in a time of peace, yet even still he does not fully grasp how God sees and values him.  “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” (2 Samuel 7:2)  Put another way, “I don’t deserve to live in luxury, and I haven’t done enough for God.”

This is logical, which makes it surprising when God sends a long prophetic word to Nathan countering it in 2 Samuel 7:4-16; instead of David building God a house, God intends to create an everlasting house for him!

“Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever. ” (v16)

This small-shepherd-boy-turned-king believed he was not doing enough for God, and God affirmed his life and gave an eternal promise!

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:
“Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human!”
2 Samuel 7:18-19

Have you spoken like David?  “Who am I?  What is my family?  I am a mere human!”  When David spoke this he had already experienced God in profound ways, yet his humanity still said, “you are too small, too far.”  Meanwhile, God confronted his assumed-unworthiness with statements of value, purpose, and promise, and He is doing the same for you.  To hear it requires the humility and faith to hold in tension the reality that we may actually be “the least” and God has still chosen us:

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Our purpose is not to cease being the pinky toe of the Body of Christ, but to celebrate that even the toe is not too small or far to be known by the Head and used by God.  Our purpose is to live into the reality that we are not separate, but a part of “the whole body, joined and held together” commissioned as one to its growth in Love, just as Nathan was vital to David’s growth.  Our purpose is to trust the Head and celebrate our role in the Body — no matter how hard or unknown it may be at times — not as an act of self-advancement, but one of gratitude to the God who knows and loves us:

“What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.
“How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.“
2 Samuel 7:20-22