Different, Yet the Same

Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and choose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphacus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Luke 6: 12-16 (NRSV)

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." John 1:43 (NRSV)

Stephen Bendit lives in Colorado. Growing up as a preacher's kid, Stephen attended a lot of different churches. Looking back, he sees how every church that his dad served was distinct. The congregations, services, outreach programs, church camps, Bible studies, and songs were similar, but also different. All congregations worshiped God, but Stephen was amazed at the many different ways of praising and serving God.

Jesus loves diversity! When he chose the 12 disciples, he picked people with different personalities, abilities, and professions: fishermen, a tax collector, Zealots.

Jesus' closest non-disciple friends and companions were also a diverse bunch with different backgrounds and beliefs. But with these many different points of view and backgrounds, all that Jesus requested of them was to "follow me!"

Today's Christians are also a diverse group with different nationalities, professions, languages, cultures, denominations, and worship traditions. The companions of Jesus clearly show that he loved diversity! As we answer Jesus' call, "Follow me," we can find our common faith within our diversity.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, help us acknowledge and accept how others praise you, and lead us all toward becoming one body, your church, in Jesus' name. Amen.