As a kid raised in church, I always heard the Church referred to as the Body of Christ. To a silly twelve-year-old, I found it funny to think about what a body would be like without certain parts functioning properly. Or, even better, which people represented the different parts of the body.

It was easy to see the pastor as the head and people who dreamed big as the eyes. I could easily see who the hands and feet were as they were service-minded and got the job done. But as kids often do, I took it to a weird level. Who would be the heart? Lungs? Stomach? Backbone? Kidneys? Bladder? Intestines? Or even the colon?

Then I considered the liver. Did you know the liver has over 500 functions that are essential to the body performing properly? Like a swimming pool has a filter system, the liver acts as the body’s filter. All day long the liver filters out toxins and waste from our blood.

The liver also creates bile which helps our digestive system break down fats. Not only that, but it stores essential minerals and vitamins as well. But the coolest fact about the liver is that it regenerates. If something happened and 75% of my liver was damaged, the other 25% could regenerate in around fifteen days.

A harder realization about the liver is some people are born with diseases or contract them later in life that impact the liver. They are either very sick most of their lives, receive liver transplants, or die due to disease. That’s how important the liver is. This three-pound organ must work properly or everything else fails.

In life with others, it’s the same thing. If the hands and feet are working hard, the eyes and ears functioning well, and the other organs are working away, but the liver decides it’s not good enough or has no purpose because its behind the scenes, then none of the other parts are going to perform properly. If the liver decides that it’s done dealing with all the other body parts’ waste, gets tired, and quits, then the waste builds up and kills the whole body. Or what if it decides that it no longer wants to supply the body with essential minerals or nutrients because it can’t see the long-term benefit and it seems like a waste of time? The body will die.

And what if the liver decides not to offer its regenerative power? What if it decides to be selfish and stay broken? The body will be sick and weak because the liver decided not to give life to the rest of the body, even though it was made for that specific purpose.

Have you figured out I’m talking about people and not the liver anymore? Some people are gifted with discernment and can filter the lies away quickly, yet they write their gift off as non-essential. These people can also sense direction and insights that need to be shared. If they don’t get the courage to share or deem themselves unworthy of offering their gift to God, wolves will get mixed in with the sheep and destroy the flock. Waste will quickly enter into the Body. And it will get deathly sick. Or what if this person, who God has obviously gifted with vital spiritual vitamins and nutrients, convinces themselves that it’s just too silly to speak about such things. The body, again, begins to weaken because the liver is not willing to do its job.

We all have different gifts, abilities, and roles. When we talk ourselves out of using our gifts, downplay our gifts, or stop tapping into these areas, we are hurting everyone connected to us. Has fear kept you quiet? Hurt? Distrust? It’s time to look past those areas and learn to play our parts. For the sake of the Body. Without the liver, the Body dies.

(Information retrieved from “Liver Facts for Kids”, factsjustforkids.com)