Connected in the body and to the head

During homeschooling due to COVID-19, I recalled “The Skeleton Song” used for teaching children the parts of the body. Here’s how it goes: “The foot bone’s connected to the leg bone. The leg bone’s connected to the knee bone. The knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone. Doin’ the skeleton dance. The thigh bone’s connected to the hip bone. The hip bone’s connected to the backbone. The backbone’s connected to the neck bone. Doin’ the skeleton dance.”

This song is based on one written in the early 1900s named “Dem Bones,” or “Dry Bones,” based on Ezekiel 37:1-14 that describes a vision in which the Old Testament prophet prophesied the word of the Lord to a mass of bones God would reunite them into living bodies. That happened in the vision.

Like that pile of bones, because of their sin, Israel would be sent into exile far away from Jerusalem and be separated from each other, the to-be-destroyed temple and God (2 Chronicles 36:15-23). The prophecy also was about the Kingdom of God under the new covenant — the church and its individual members, especially the part about having God’s spirit within Christians who are now the Israel of God (John 7:37-39; Galatians 3:26-29; 4:6-7; 6:14-16; Philippians 3:3; Colossians 2:9-12; Romans 2:28-29; 6:3-7; Hebrews 12:22-29).

In the church, as with that pile of bones, God brings the individual members together as he sees fit into one body with Jesus as the head (1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 4:1-6; 1:22-23; Colossians 1:15-20). Since not all parts function the same, each member needs the others, and each one must do its part to support the body so the church can function properly (Ephesians 4:7-16). When one member is missing, the rest must somehow compensate. That being said, the body never is complete on its own. So we have Jesus as the head, and God provides his spirit to give us abilities beyond our imagination (Ephesians 3:20-21; 2 Corinthians 9:8-11).

“The Skeleton Song,” as cited above, doesn’t say, “The neck bone’s connected to the head bone,” but the original song does, and I think everyone knows the body cannot function without being connected to the head. Every Christian is to be directly connected to God through Jesus (John 4:21-24; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 7:23-25). In fact, any person or church that doesn’t follow Jesus’ commands isn’t connected to the Godhead and is dead (Colossians 2:18-19; Jude 1:12).

Sometimes, when body parts aren’t functioning properly or even malfunctioning, the rest of the body has to act correctively, detaching that part at least temporarily, if not permanently (1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 2 Corinthians 2:1-11; Matthew 5:29-30; Titus 3:9-11). Other times, we’re to allow those parts who are weak and often fall to temptation to remain among us so we can help them grow, allowing God to sort out the truly incorrigible (Romans 14:1-4; 15:1-7; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15; Matthew 18:21-22; 13:24-30; John 15:1-2).

Are you connected directly to the head? To be otherwise is pretty boneheaded!

Leonard Lauriault is a member of the Church of Christ in Logan who writes about faith for the Quay County Sun. Contact him at [email protected]