Unity vs Same-ness

Tim and I went to church today. He has been volunteering in the Cradle Roll class this quarter and loves it. It cracks me up that he loves to help in there because most men just want to escape anything that has to do with diapers or babies. Not Tim. He will even stop families in the grocery store so he can coo at the babies. He just kills me! Anyway, he loves it and he knows all their little names and now he knows all the mommies names too. He told me about little Ainsley, Jude, Jack, and Laylahnie and how one of them kicks off her shoe and then another likes to be held and so on and so on. It’s so funny.

I, on the other hand, have been going to another class and we have been talking about “one another” verses. Today we discussed how we are like a body – each one of us a different part but we belong to the whole. We are called to be unified. Unified – as in working together. NOT same-ness.

If we think that it means “same-ness”, then IF you don’t agree with me….what am I to do? Well, I would have to distance myself from you. How is that “working together” or showing “unity?” Having the opinion that we all must believe exactly the same way gives birth to the act of disfellowshipping people for any thought or action different from our personal interpretation of the way things should be.

Who decides where the “fellowship” line is in the sand?
Who decides when a person (or church) has crossed that line?
Pretty soon our circle of fellowship grows smaller and smaller until we only have a handful of people that we believe are “true” worshippers and we’re really not too sure about ½ of them. That is pitiful.

Now as pitiful as it may be… I came away with a positive thought. I can hold onto the fact that God has blessed others with certain talents and he has blessed me too – only with different ones. Together (unified) we will work to do what God has called us to do – each doing it’s own part to build up the whole. I don’t have to be (or think) exactly the “same” as everyone else. And that is a relief. It’s a relief to know that the Church is not The Borg.

Ps. I thought ending with a Star Trek-ism would be a nice touch. (wink)