Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Gratefully Diverse

Skin, bones, muscles, eyes, ears, fingers, elbows, and toes. How diverse one human being is. How diverse also the body of Christ is.

What a grace and an example of God’s spectacular creativity. We were not all pressed with the same cookie cutter. Each of us with unique voices, personalities, and even fingerprints. And this not by mistake, but by design.

How immensely I’ve benefited from being exposed to the variety in the body of Christ. I’ve benefited from those in the Charismatic camps as well as those of the not-so-charismatic camps. From those who are prone to an intellectual large mindedness and from those who are prone to a not-so-intellectual large heartedness. From those who see things differently than I do and from those who by all accounts are quite different from me in various ways.

How have you benefited from the diversity of Christ’s people?

Or have you missed out on this blessing because, whether by choice or by happenstance, you’ve been quite isolated in your particular corner of Christianity?

It's quite interesting how we gravitate towards those who are most like us. It's also interesting how we benefit from those who are not so much like us.

Though now it often seems we are given to an unusual and likely unnatural bent towards self-likeness we will see much fruit grow from the cross-pollination of growing into Christ-likeness as we become a part of the body that is tremendously larger than we are and notably more diverse.

2 comments:

mwh said...

This is so true: "It's quite interesting how we gravitate towards those who are most like us. It's also interesting how we benefit from those who are not so much like us."

Excellent post.

John said...

Ben,

You're asking good questions. I appreciate your spirit.