I’m assuming we’ve all heard the saying “tom-A-toe tom-ah-toe” before. Where two people say the same word differently but in the end, the way it is said changes nothing about the object itself. In our world today we have many different cultures and in those cultures you’re finding more and more diversity being accepted. I imagine years ago if you would have told people we would be as diverse as we are today they would have had a hard time believing you. With that being said, there are many people who still aren’t ready to believe that diversity is beautiful. As I’m writing this, I’m looking at one of my precious children who just so happens to be a beautiful product of what happens when diversity is blended. (Some of you may have a hard time understanding crossing borders most would never imagine doing and I’m not writing this to advocate a single thing other than to hopefully encourage you to embrace differences around you.) I just want you to understand that I totally agree that sometimes diversity is difficult, sometimes either sides don’t fully understand each other, sometimes the average on looker seems to be questioning your life’s decisions, and for the majority of the time…. none of that matters.

Have you ever played a sport or wanted to make a good grade in school, or wanted to get a promotion at work? Chances are if you have ever strived for any of those you’ve made steps that were slightly uncomfortable but in the end it was worth it. Chances are that you also didn’t focus on the failure and instead chose to focus on your ultimate goal. My husband and I made the choice before having children that we wouldn’t focus on any negative comments/attention and instead choose to love those who don’t understand. I fully believe that if you focus on the positive… positive will be more evident and likewise for the opposite.

I want to encourage you to look at your close circle of friends, if you look and see mostly similarities to yourself; things like they possibly all come from the same monetary background, the majority are of one race, the majority are the same age, the majority are all married if you are married or single if you are single, the majority has the same religious beliefs…. this list could honestly go for days. The moral of this is that when you look at your friends/acquaintances and you don’t see a mixture of people… then I’m talking to you (especially if you are a Christian).

As a Christian I fully believe that we are supposed to spread love to everyone no matter their background. We should treat each other with equal amounts of respect. If you take a look into what Jesus said in Luke, particularly in chapter 6 starting at verse 27 you find that Jesus tells us to actually LOVE our enemies. He explains that we are to bless those that curse us and pray for those who spitefully use us. Jesus goes on to say that if we are only loving those that love us what good does that do? He said even sinners love those that love them. Jesus tells us to be merciful just as our father is merciful. That explains that even when people aren’t trying to get along with you and are out to use you that its a perfect opportunity to allow Christ’s love to shine through you and bring unity into diversity.

“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.” This is found in 1 Corinthians 12:12. I absolutely love this verse because it paints a beautiful picture of many differences coming together as ONE body and not only is it a body, but it’s a FUNCTIONING body. All pieces move and work together through all of the differences. I don’t know about you, but that alone gives me the push I need to find someone today who is “different” than myself and show them Christ unending love!

Prayer:

God, I want to thank you for leaving us with your wisdom to read and apply to our lives daily. I ask that each person reading this seeks your word more today and applies it to their lives. Align our paths today so that we are able to find someone who is different than ourselves and allow us the opportunity to share your loving kindness with them. In Jesus name I pray, amen.