But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 1 Corinthians 12 NIV
When I look around at the world right now, all I see is division. These last few months seem to have driven us further and further away from each other. We can’t get past our differences and that has caused a major rift through our world. So much hate, violence, and destruction has taken place because of our differences.
Our differences are not a bad thing. They are not something we have to fight over.
If we were all the same, we wouldn’t get very far in life. There would be far more competition if we all had the same skills and interests. No one would be very successful because we would all be doing the same exact thing, while looking the exact same way.
I don’t know about you, but I sure wouldn’t want to live in a world where I was the same as everyone else. It would be very monotonous and boring. I like the diverse world we live in much better. There is always someone new to meet; someone with unique talents and abilities. Its exciting!
Difference is a good thing and it should bring us closer together instead of driving us apart.
Although God created us all in His image and we each bear a likeness to Him, He made us each unique for a reason! We all have a special purpose in life, one that is to grow the kingdom of God instead of breaking it apart.
We are part of the body of Christ and are supposed to work together for good. Our differences and uniqueness are what enable us to succeed in many different good works. We are all working towards the same goal: to bring glory to God and His kingdom. But, we each have our own special gift that allows us to do that. If we all had the same ability, gift, or purpose, we wouldn’t get very far.
Imagine a race track. There are multiple different lanes for people to run in, but every runner is part of the same race. That is the same for the body of Christ. We are all running the same race, but are in our own lanes. The only difference is, we shouldn’t be competing against each other. Rather, we should be encouraging and helping each other to run faster and get farther.
The more we work together, the more successful we will become. By building each other up, we are focusing on fulfilling God’s calling for our lives and living more like Jesus.
Jesus didn’t compare or compete. He didn’t divide people or break them apart. He loved and encouraged. He joined and united. The whole purpose of His time on Earth was to unite God’s children and bridge the gap between us and God’s kingdom. He united us all as one.
{To learn more about Godly unity, read the entire chapter 1 Corinthians 12 in the bible. It explains unity and diversity in the body of Christ in more detail, as well as shares more about spiritual gifts.}