In His longest recorded prayer, Jesus prayed for His followers:
“That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” ~ John 17:21
Jesus wants His followers to maintain unity. But can you imagine what a boring world it would be if everybody looked and thought exactly alike? Maybe you’ve thought that being in unity with God and with one another means you must first lose your own individuality, but our Creator is a God of variety. The same God who makes billions of variations of stars and snowflakes intentionally makes people different.
Growing in Christ means learning to respect one another’s freedom to look, act, and believe differently than we do. Recognizing that we are all on our own unique journey with God can help us achieve this. As Christians, and as children of God, we can learn to appreciate and celebrate our differences because God has ordained both unity and diversity in His kingdom forever.
“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.” ~ 1 Corinthians 12:4-6
SPIRITUAL THOUGHT
Staying true to ourselves isn’t easy. The poet E. E. Cummings observed, “To be nobody but yourself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you like everybody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.” Remember that God created you as a unique, cherished and priceless person.
MY PRAYER
Lord, thank You for making me unique, cherished and priceless. Help me to always see and appreciate the beautiful diversity You have created in this world. Amen.
