Achy Joints

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Achy Joints

Can you imagine a body without joints? It wouldn’t even be able to move.

We don’t usually appreciate the joints in our body until they start to give us problems.

I’m at the age where various joints take turns stiffening, aching, tingling, creaking, or even going out on me. If they all ganged up on me at once, I’d be in real trouble.

What happens when a joint doesn’t work right? An achy joint limits mobility. If the joint is stiff or painful enough, it could stop movement altogether. The Bible likens an unreliable person to an unreliable joint: “Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint,” (Proverbs 25:19, KJV).

There are multiple passages comparing Christians to a body, with Christ as its head. And that body is held together and moves by way of its joints.

After telling about the gifts God has given to the church in teachers, shepherds, and evangelists to help the church mature and equip the saints for the work of the ministry, Paul says:

Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love (Ephesians 4:15-16).

Colossians has similar imagery:

Holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God (2:19).

In looking up the anatomy of joints, I was surprised to find just how complex they are. But one significant part of a joint is the synovium, which secretes synovial fluid, which in turn provides lubrication and nourishment for the joint, according to this article. 

Interestingly, that article also says, the synovium “not only has its own specific functions but also interacts with other tissues in the joint both structurally and functionally.” That’s just like the body of Christ, too, isn’t it? 1 Corinthians 12 says we each have our own gifts and areas of usefulness, but we also interact as different parts of the same body.

What’s the synovial fluid among God’s people?

Ephesians 4:15 says we should be “speaking the truth in love.”

Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 15:34-35).

Peter said, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).

Paul wrote, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

Wouldn’t our interactions as a body go so much more smoothly if we expressed that kind of love?

The synovial fluid also nourishes joints. Colossians says we’re “nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments.“

How do we nourish each other? What’s our spiritual food? Job said God’s Word was more than his necessary food, and the author of Hebrews speaks of God’s Word as milk and meat.

As we take in God’s Word and grow in Him, we share it with each other, so that we help others grow as well.

Adrian Rogers* calls this activity within the body “flexible harmony.” “When each part is working properly, [it] makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:16).

May we avoid spiritual achy joints by loving and nourishing each other in Christ.

Ephesians 4:16

*(This post was inspired by a couple of paragraphs near the end of Adrian Roger’s message, Faithful in Ministry, heard on BBN Radio 10/25/24. The link contains a summary, along with tabs to listen or download the transcript.)

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

18 thoughts on “Achy Joints”

  1. Great message. Achy joints can provide valuable lessons. I have arthritis in my body and there are times when the pain is awful. But, even in the pain, I can share God’s love. 🙂 Have a blessed day! 🙂

  2. When I complain to my daughter about my stiff, hurting joints, she reminds me that “Motion equals lotion.” In other words, when you move the joints, the synovial fluid you mentions lubricates the joints and makes them less painful. It would be like delving into God’s word and “lubricating” our spirits to move and receive in our Christian walk. Bad analogy, maybe? LOL

    • I think that’s an apt illustration. 🙂 You know, I never heard “motion is lotion” until maybe a year or so ago, but I’ve heard it several times in the last month. Maybe God is trying to tell me something. 🙂

  3. Beautiful illustration! We tend not to notice joints until they give us trouble, and then–oh boy. May I, and each of us, show God’s love to others today to keep the body of Christ moving smoothly.

    • Thanks so much. It’s not original with me–I heard a part of Adrian Roger’s message on the radio while in the kitchen for a few minutes, and it gave much food for thought. The message itself was on spiritual gifts, with the closing part about all of them working together harmoniously within the church.

  4. Good deeper look at the importance of the joints in the spiritual body – the Holy Spirit gave Paul some excellent inspiration about anatomy and physiology when he wrote those analogies! Since I have arthritis myself, I know the value of good working joints and how one joint that hurts or doesnt work the way it should can cause other parts of my body to be misaligned and painful as well. That should now serve as a reminder to me to interact with my Christian brothers and sisters in a loving and harmonious way.

  6. If ever there was a time in our country’s history when we need plenty of synovial fluid, it’s NOW! My prayer is that the church will continue to function as the Body in spite of our differences, “knit together by what every joint supplies!”

  7. I love this comparison, Barbara, and appreciate your efforts in researching the functions of our joints. May God grant us, as His children, to be an instrument of the synovial fluid flowing from us to others during a time when our nation is so divided.

  8. I love this, Barbara! I’ve never really thought of joints in quite this way, but I’ll certainly be keeping it in mind from here on. Thank you for the wonderful reminder to love others!

  9. Thank you for these lovely thoughts and truths, Barbara!

    The “Achy Joints” title really caught my attention as I am about to help my mom (85 years old but very active) through double hip replacement in early January.

    I love the thought of being “nourished and knit together.” 🙂

    Thank you for joining the InstaEncouragements linkup! I appreciate you!

  10. keeps our physical joints healthy, sharing God’s Word and love keeps our spiritual lives strong and connected. As a carpet cleaner, I often see how a little care and attention can revive and renew what’s beneath the surface—similar to how taking time to share and build each other up refreshes our souls. May we all continue in this “flexible harmony,” helping each other grow in love and grace.

  12. We are so in need of synovial fluid in this world. I have been studying 1 John and he speaks of love, and loving one another, in such a needed way. May we as believers take the Lord’s command to love one another most seriously. And I love the way Adrian Rogers put it as well – “flexible harmony”. Wonderful post, Barbara!

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