God Loves Variety
By Alan Griffin
KidsnChrist
There are enough bits of information in a single cell to fill 31,000 books. A single cell contains approximately 1 trillion atoms, of which, not one has ever been seen by man. Inside its fully enclosed nucleus is all the DNA necessary to create a duplicate body. Then we have proteins, such as histones, to form chromosomes. The genes within these chromosomes are the cell’s nuclear genome and with a lot of patience, we can take that down to the string theory ending we think with Higgs boson which is a particle that is in all matter. To say that God loves variety is an understatement. Every single person on earth is different, every animal, fish, and plant are different.
There are two issues with the church today that turn off so many believers. The first is conformity. We just seem to get stuck in our way of doing things and refuse to give in to new ideas. I struggle with it myself. A good example is a church here where I live has a plastic, throw away container they use for the Lord’s supper. The top of it is a wafer and then you peel off another layer of plastic and you have the fruit juice. The way we do it in my church is very structured and formal. What is so amazing is the new church with the plastic throw away container has thousands of people showing up for their multiple services. Where we, on the other hand, can barely get enough people in the door to keep the church open. So, you have one group of people who think one way and another who thinks the other way. Who is to say this is wrong? Some will conform to the existing standards of a church while others, who don’t like the standards, go and start another church. This, in turn, attracts more people to Christ.
God loves variety. Our universe is made up of billions of galaxies which consist of billions and billions of stars. Each star and each galaxy are different. Now imagine the cells in a planet or a star and the infinite number of cells that are in the universe. Oh, by the way, the universe is not necessarily the proper term anymore. They’ve now changed the word to “multiverse,” or more than one universe. Can you possibly imagine that a cell is like a universe, and some of the atoms in a cell are planets with living beings, animals, and plants? Or, what if each universe is a cell of God and He is out walking on another planet somewhere. The concept staggers my mind.
The Body of Christ has perhaps twenty-two spiritual gifts. Combine those with the diversity of mankind and you have untold billions of spiritual combinations, each person with Christ in their own special way. We have Christians who walk differently, dress differently, and read different Bibles. Many of us who try to shape the world into our own formula miss out on some of the greatest blessings that God has to offer. Human beings are creatures of habit, so we tend to judge people based on our perspective on life. Too many times I have received emails from people throughout the world who have become discouraged with going to church. Someone has judged them because of the way they dress, their belief, or the type of Bible they read. I have gone to some churches where people are speaking in tongues, others where there are plenty of robust “AMENS”, and others that are as quiet as a mouse. None of these things are wrong. We all worship God in a slightly different way, and I think this is wonderful because God loves diversity. Give two pastors the same Bible verse and you will get two completely different sermons every time. Read a Bible verse one time and we will get one meaning. Read it again and we will get another meaning. God is infinite.
Let us please try to give others the benefit of the doubt. So, let us please put a Christ-like foot forward, and set an example for others to follow. We are followers of Christ and leaders of others. Just like Jesus. I use this three-letter guideline to help me deal with other human beings. It is “FJL”.
Forgive lest we not be forgiven – The Bible says, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive others who sin against us.”
Judge not lest we be judged – God judges us as we judge others.
Love always, because love never fails – There are many people in this world, who aren’t Christians, and yet love their families. We must do more. We must love those who judge us, hate us, humiliate us because that is what Jesus taught us – to love our enemies as we love ourselves.
“And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” 1 Kings 19:11-12. I have been very fortunate through Bible study and prayer to be able to recognize the still, small voice of God. It has been a tremendous blessing to me to receive the comfort and counseling of the Holy Spirit daily. It is an inner voice we hear inside of our mind that brings our thoughts to light as to whether we are in or out of the will of God. It is always there with us wherever we go, and whatever kind of conflict we may have to endure to survive the day. It is God’s blessing upon those who love Him and spend time with Him. Do you talk to yourself? Well, so do I, and I have found that when I say something to myself if I will just pause for a moment God will respond. It’s usually a time when HE IS PUTTING ME IN MY PLACE, reminding me who I am and who I am not. Now, most of the time, I am not necessarily talking to Him. I will be going over some subject in my mind, either trying to solve a problem at work, or talking to myself about the project at hand, and He will join in my conversation, instructing in the way I should go.
Many times, I have complained about someone else’s behavior, and the Holy Spirit immediately responds, “You’ve done the same thing yourself.” I am very fortunate to have a great recollection of my past including my past behavior. Many of us aging Christians try to forget our past because it is an embarrassment to us. By doing this it makes it easy for us to pass judgment on others. I am thankful I have that still, small voice reminding me who I really am. I am a sinner. I have sinned greatly in the past, I am sinning now, every moment of every day, and I will be sinning in the future until I am called home. I will watch the news and ask myself, “How could someone kill another person like that?” The Holy Spirit will respond to me in that still, small voice by saying, “You have done the same thing in your heart many times.” I don’t want you to think that just because I am on the other side of the keyboard that I am any different from anyone else. If there is any difference between the two of us it just might be that little bit of precious time, I spend with the Lord every day.
I have never had a homosexual relationship and every time I complain about their promiscuity, He reminds me of my own. The Bible tells us to refrain from homosexual behavior, to refrain from sexual behavior out of wedlock, and to refrain from adultery. All these sins are against us and are very damaging to our souls. A sin is a sin, and we can’t be talking about someone else’s behavior without looking at our own. We all are human and have sexual desires that we need to keep in check. It is the fallen man who judges others, and it is the grace of God when we forgive. Too often our churches are represented by unregenerated souls pursuing their own agenda. We need to be on guard against such individuals and toughen up our skin so as not to let them rent space in our minds. Instead of responding defensively, we need to hold our tongue and set a Christian example for others to follow. I myself don’t really care what others think of me because most of the time their thoughts don’t have any bearing on my life. I do care what God thinks of me because He holds my soul between His fingertips, and I fear His power over me.
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Alan Griffin started the Kindsnchrist ministries in November 1997. He has worked with inner city kids for 21 years. He found a need for specialized Biblical literature that would reach people fo all ages and has been writing since 2005. The ministry has expanded their websites to reach around the world. Kindsnchrist.com, millennialchristian.com, teensnchrist.com, seniorsnchrist.com, picture-verse.com, and soulworks-smallgroups.com. We had an outreach of over 13,000,000 people last year with 36,000,000 impressions. If you have any questions for Alan you can reach him at alan@kidsnchrist.com
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