The Holy Spirit broadens our minds and gives us a practical understanding and subsequent appreciation of the differences we have as individuals and communities. Prior to this gradual transformation, we often feel that people have to think and behave in certain ways based on our interpretation of moral and Christian principles.
Needless to say, this narrow-minded view can be the foundation of a wide-ranging bias. This tendency to make our own unique interpretations the standard of truth is common to most people, and it is another way the enemy sneaks in the sin of pride into our lives. God made us as individuals and He cherishes our unique personalities, differences and abilities. The only common standard He desires is that all our gifts and abilities be ultimately used for His own glory.
Jesus understood that his disciples had varying strengths and weaknesses, and one can only imagine that He tailored their tasks and responsibilities to suit their unique abilities. There are many rooms in my Father’s House, He once remarked. There is always room for differences of opinion and style as long as the goal is a common goal. When we begin to expand our minds and accept the differences we see in our fellow Christians and other denominations, we are helping God’s Spirit in us to unite the Body of Christ, His Church.
Saint Paul summed it up beautifully when he compared the different roles in the Church to the different parts of the body, noting that every part had a unique role to play in the smooth functioning of the system. If we could only see with the eyes of God, we would always see in ourselves, what God is molding us into, that is the near-perfect person He wants us to be. We would also see that this ‘potential best’ is the same desire He has for our neighbor, and that person who has been a source of irritation to us.
Nowhere is this gift of appreciation for differences more important than in a marriage. When a husband and wife are able to identify and appreciate their own unique strengths and weaknesses first, and then identify their partner’s own, they are laying the framework for marital peace. In the best relationships, the strength of one partner covers up for the weakness of the other and vice versa. Even when a change is desirable in the other person, it can be pursued with prayer, patience and wisdom, given an appreciation of one’s own faults.
We are all struggling towards our potential best. May the Holy Spirit help us to appreciate and understand this struggle in others in the same way that we hope God is understanding of our own struggle.
Note: Edited version of original posting from March 2018.
Hilltop Thoughts, Valley Strengths 