And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God....(Mark 12:14, ESV)
Diversity among believers, who serve the one true God, is a good thing. Within one's own congregation, many God-given gifts are employed in a variety of ways, in order to celebrate the unique unity of the body. Diversity is uniqueness as I shared in a 9/10/11 blog entry.
Embracing the culture of my Sudanese friends in Bible Study has so enriched my understanding of trusting God. These gals have lived this truth right before my eyes. What a blessing.
In appearance we are vastly different---from the color of our skin to the age of our bones. But God....in His love and mercy has had our paths cross and my life is richer because of this relationship. I count on their support when I'm teaching and they are always there. Front and center. Encouraging. Hopefully they value my friendship as well.
So let’s stop condemning each other...as Roman 14:13, NLT says, and choose instead to share a cuppa diversi-TEA. Their's 's might be a Rooibos red tea and mine might be an Assam black tea....but, when shared, both cuppas warm our souls. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. (Colossians 3:11, NLT) That's God's way.
