Different and Precious

Fingerprints and retinal scans illustrate that every person alive is slightly different physically. Each person has slightly different personalities, interests, abilities, and desires, this makes us all distinctive. When these physical differences are paired with different cultures, backgrounds, and experiences, each person becomes truly unique. But Jesus loves these unique people, and so should His people, whether or not they are believers. “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” – Jn. 16:8-11 (ESV). When we consider this conundrum, accepting people does not mean we agree with them, but we acknowledge their ability to believe whatever they want. Likely, for any other person who is alive or has lived, there are topics with which we fully agree and others with which we completely disagree; this is what makes us unique. The Holy Spirit will guide us to accept these unique people, if we will allow Him to do so. Because we do not believe a certain thing now does not mean we may never believe something similar or identical in the future. All Christians are walking on a unique individual spiritual journey led by the Holy Spirit. We need to remember other people may be at a different place on their own journey. Each person will probably have different hills, valleys, twists and turns on this journey to help address their unique weaknesses and achieve full sanctification. When we recognize this, we become open to accepting the person’s present situation and accepting help from them and sharing help with others as needed. When we accept ourselves and others as they are and attempt to help one another, Satan’s attacks are thwarted.