Diversity is beautiful. The universe, the world, and the human body contain evidence of the beauty of diversity. Differences, without understanding, can also bring about chaos. The apostle Paul speaks about the diversity of Kingdom of God as a human body. The foot must care about the needs of the eye, because, though they are different, they rely upon each other.
Each of us bring different gifts, abilities and passions into the Pathways community. Learning to work together in a way that brings about glory to God is one of the many ways in which the world begins to see Jesus in the The Space Between Us.
Read I Corinthians 12:12-31 as we get ready for this weekend.
July 13th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Greetings and Lord’s Blessings to one and all in the Pathways community.
Diversity, if an understanding to the God of Creation ways is intact, is a beautiful thing as it can truly add color to a world, which without would be small and monolithic.
Least let us not forget that foot in reference, is different to the eye, but under the same mind. Christian believers need be also under one mind, that of Christ. As those in the world are different it is what makes common the diverseness of it and in gathering together—oneness towards a common goal, the will of God. We are even instructed in scripture to have a refreshing of the mind.
How unproductive would a foot work with the eye if the mind were not in sink?
Simply look to the disciples and how diverse they were, it is part of what drove them into the period of rejecting Christ when He was apprehended and on the way to the cross. They were diverse in physical and mental ways.
It was after, a refreshing of their minds, through the Holy Spirit, that restored the oneness into a world of change towards the mark of God’s will. A focus on the resurrection is what restored them into doing, as a body, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Still diverse but of one mind!
John 17 speaks loudly of how it works. First, prayer brings about the meshing of wills, that the believer’s will is the same as God’s. Then those that are learned and doers of His ways, and last but not least, those in the world who are God’s (even if at present they know it not).
So, it is good to be different, in many ways, as learning comes from this, but the believer must have also a commonness of mind and heart (motive) to really make it by a faith that saves.
In regards to the space in between, it need be filled with the Love of God and this will bring about a genuine understanding of how diversity should work. It truly is the glue that binds us as one. Even at the time of Pentecost a coming together of language brought about a common mind, and it, towards the goal of God!! Amen.
July 15th, 2007 at 7:21 am
Unity - we talk about it a lot - but what does it REALLY take for unity to occur? Perhaps far more than we are willing to sacrifice… time will tell.