God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.
1 Corinthians 12:24-26
NOW
Diversity is God’s Call
Paul reminds us that, in the Kingdom of God, our relationships with fellow followers of Jesus resemble the way our individual body parts work together for the sake of the whole. We are immersed in a world of relationships, and God sees our inter-connectedness like a body—sometimes healthy, and sometimes in need of healing.
He wants us to remember that a body has many parts…
We don’t treat people as if
They are just like us,
As if they’ve had the same life experiences as we have,
Or view the world the same way that we do.
God loves diversity.
Diversity is built into our bodies.
Diversity is built into creation.
Diversity helps knit together a community of relationships, marked by shared rejoicing and shared suffering.
Knit together.
Together.
- Have you ever been in the position of the boys in the story? If so, tell about that experience.
- Think about your inter-connectedness to other “body parts”—today, what’s one way that the differences of your closest connections have changed you for the better?
- What is your greatest challenge in cultivating relationships across cultural divides? Greatest reward?
- In what ways might you withhold honor from the “inferior” members of the Body, and what’s one step you can take on the road to repentance?