[Steve Myers] I mean, why do we have issues? Why do we have challenges that cause discord? Why do we have these kinds of things? I mean, we have our normal default, don't we? Our normal default would be, it's Satan's fault. Let's blame him because we know, yes, he's the accuser of the brethren. He's the source. Yeah, okay, I'm not trying to minimize that. Certainly, he tries to disrupt us and he plays a part. Yeah, I totally agree with that. He wants to influence us in the wrong way and disrupt any kind of unity we might have. I agree. But at the same time, we're free moral agents. We have choice. We make choices and we exercise those choices. And so, just to put the blame somewhere else, isn’t it totally fair.

And while it's true, we are diverse, we are different, how can we deal with that in a totally different way than the world? I mean, is it even possible to have unity in diversity? Because we are different. Well, is it possible? Well, we're told, not only is it possible, but that we are commanded to have unity. Christ said that very thing, John 13:34, didn't He say, "I'm giving you a new commandment, that you have unity?" All right, He didn't say it that way. But He said, "You love one another. You love one another, the way I've demonstrated love to you. For all these years I've been with you, I've demonstrated what real unity, what real love is about. You love one another the way I've loved you." And so He says, "Not only is something nice to have, but it is a command." It's a command.

But we do find these wedges can get between us, these barriers. And we're not talking about doctrinal things. We're talking about preferences. We're talking about likes and dislikes. We're talking about those barriers that can come between us, as brothers and sisters in Christ. And, of course, we do have to recognize the fact that, all right, my personality is different than yours. We deal with things differently. Some of us are more extroverts, some are introverts, more outgoing, more reserved. Yeah, that's the way we are.

And sometimes the families we grew up in play on that, have an impact on that, our environment? Yeah, they sure do. But when you think about other factors, our culture, maybe even parts of the country that we grew up in or what country at all that we grew up, certainly, there's differences there. And we're not all the same economically either. You know, standards of living among us are quite different. And sometimes that can bring a sense of superiority, a sense of selfishness, a sense of that "I deserve this" or inferiority. And so those types of factors are definitely things we have to deal with. And then, of course, one of the big ones that has been impacting our world lately is race.

Race. Obviously, there's differences between the races. And yet in the world, the result is bias, and injustice, and unfairness, and prejudice, and inequality. That's what our world is like, but it can't be that way in here. It can't be that way among us. We can't get into that aspect of us versus them. And that's really what that comes down to. They're different. They're not my group and so automatically, I'm not sure that I trust them or want to be with them. And so it produces that kind of an attitude, that we give preference to those that we're alike and we give a difference and a prejudice to those who are different. And in the Church, you can't call that anything but a spirit of division. That's what it is, a spirit of division. And walls are erected, barriers are enforced and we don't see things the same.

And while that's true, we do things differently. We have different likes. We have different dislikes. Somehow we've got to get beyond that because our calling says, "We love. We care. We're to be one." So, how do we do that? How do we get to that point to turn those disrupting differences that are causes of division, how do we turn those around into builders of unity? Because that's what we have to do. That's a calling. I mean, is it possible to have that kind of unity when there's so much variety?

I mean, part of what we have to start with is the fact that God loves variety, doesn't He? I mean, He loves diversity, especially when you think about His creation. He made aardvarks and alligators. Talk about diverse. Yeah, they're pretty different, aren't they? And pines and pansies, and pulsars and planets. He made all these beautiful things that are so very different. And this display that we see out in nature, I think demonstrates the fact that God loves variety. He loves diversity. Now, does He love diversity in people? Well, I think He does. When it comes to people, what is His plan? What is His purpose? I mean, I know there's some out there that that look at the Bible and they misunderstand, and they'll say, "Well, I guess God just preferred Israel. They were His favorite son. You know, He played favorites and that's all that that God is about."

I mean, is that true? I mean, did God only ever intend to work with Israel and that was it? We know better, don't we? We know better. God always intended to give everyone an opportunity to understand the truth, to draw close to Him, to get to know Him, to be converted. That was His plan right from the start. Now He began with Israel, that's true, but always intended to give everyone an opportunity. There's a beautiful passage in Isaiah 11:10, I will turn there. Isaiah 11:10 makes that very point that God not only loves variety, but He expects it. He expects diversity. And within His plan, He has a means and a way to work with that diversity to bring Him glory and honor. Isaiah 11:10, we kind of jump into the middle of a thought, but it points to Jesus Christ. Isaiah 11:10, says, "In that day, there shall be a Root of Jesse,” and, of course, that Root of Jesse is Jesus, Jesus Christ. It says, "who shall stand as a banner to the people." So what is this banner? What is this flag all about? What is it representing? Well, it says, "for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious." So, this is Old Testament stuff.

But it bears the fact that God always intended to work with the Gentiles, always intended to work with those that weren't Israelites. And that was part of His plan and purpose, He started with Israel, He's going to work with everyone. And that time is coming, in fact, in a way is already here. Many of us would be called Gentiles. We're not Jewish. We're not Israelites. And so, we're testament to the fact that God does work with a variety of people, even today. And in the future, He's going to give everyone that opportunity. All those who never knew them will have that opportunity. In fact, you might even make a note of Galatians 3:8, I won't turn there. But that cites Abraham as the ultimate example of this, that God worked with Abraham, but in Abraham, who was going to be blessed? All nations. All nations would be blessed because ultimately, the Christ would come through that line.

And so, when we recognize that, God looks at people a little differently than the way of this world, doesn't He? In fact, think about what we've been given to do, as a group, as a collection, as the Church of God. Do we have a mission that's God-given? I mean, does He say, "Listen, this is what you need to be about? I mean, is it all just about me and my personal salvation and I don't have to worry about anyone else? I mean, we know better, right? We sing that song quite often, don't we? It's number 101 in our hymnal. You know it by heart, don't you? "Go ye therefore into all the world." You can sing with me. "Preach the gospel unto everyone." What are we supposed to do then? "Teach all nations to observe all things I have commanded you." Yeah, Matthew 28:19, the commission that God has given us is to how many nations? How many just selective, special little pets that God has? No, all nations. God wants variety, in other words, or He wouldn't have made it this way, He wouldn't have made people this way. So, we cannot despise what God has created, really what He has authored because He loves variety.

He loves diversity. And diversity and variety is not a reason to separate. It's not a reason to build walls. It's not a reason to divide over personal preferences. God says, "That's ridiculous." And in fact, He gives us an example of a church, a church of God, that had issues with this very thing. The church is Corinth. And in 1 Corinthians 1:10, here we begin to see how that impacted God's Church in Corinth because they faced many of the same issues that we face today. We live in this diverse culture. They did too. It was this great harbor city where people were coming going from all over the Empire. And they had challenges because God called all kinds of people from all kinds of walks of life.

And so, notice what Paul writes to them 1 Corinthians 1:10. He says, "I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus, that you all agree with one another so there may be no divisions among you, and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought." And so as we look at the beginning of 1 Corinthians, it becomes pretty clear what was their problem, division. And you could trace that division right to the same things we face. And whether it's race, or social status, or sex, or culture, or personality, differences of opinion, whether you wear a mask or not, oh, well, maybe that one's not listed there, but those are the same things that they faced. And those personal differences were causing them to divide, to play favorites.

In fact, just a couple of pages over, if you look at chapter 3 verse 3, notice part of the results of that. 1 Corinthians 3:3, "You are still worldly. For since there's jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly?" You see, He didn't say, "Oh, because there's differences of doctrine because you're not following the truth…" No, He's not saying that. He says, "You're jealous and you're quarreling." He says, "Are you not acting like mere men?" Yeah, they were influenced by the world around them and they weren't acting like converted Christians. They were acting like regular, old, carnal human beings. That's what they were doing. And Paul's pointing out how unacceptable, how that influence of the world has impacted the Church.

And so much so it even impacted what their practice was during church services and even to the extent of the Passover. It impacted their celebration of probably one of the most important things that we do as God's people, as we recommit ourselves and dedicate ourselves to following God that one time a year. In fact, we can notice this if you go over to chapter 10. Chapter 10 verse 16, he points to the impact that the Passover should have on us, to remind us from where we've come and where we're to be. Now 1 Corinthians 10:16, he says, "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?" And, of course, this is not a communion like most religion would think of "communion" with some grape juice and a little wafer or that sort of thing. No, He's not talking about that.

This Greek word is the word koinonia. And it means fellowship. It means sharing. It means participation, that we are participants in the blood of Jesus Christ. In fact, He says it again about the bread. The bread which we break, is it not the communion, the sharing, the participation, the partnership? That's what that word literally means. We are partnered together because we are in the Body of Christ. And so, he says, "Though we are many, though we're diverse, though there's a variety of us, we're one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread." And so, Paul's making no mistake here, he's saying, "Listen, we are one body." And the Passover illustrates that very fact, that we can't have these separations. We can't have cliques and divisions, and groups within the Body of Christ. There has to be peace. You see, instead of jealousy, instead of, you know, these differences that come between us, there has to be harmony in the Body of Christ. And we can't be emulating Corinth. He says, "Yes, I recognize there are slaves and free. I recognize there's Jews and Gentiles but that's just an outward thing. We are one in Christ."

He says, "There's nothing wrong with those differences. There's nothing wrong that we grew up differently." He doesn't say, "Well, because you're a Jew, you're evil or because you're a Gentile, you're awful." No, you're converted. There's nothing sinful about that. But we have to be unified. We have to be unified. And I think it's interesting that it's not that unity means we're all a bunch of yellow pencils, that we have no personality, we have no difference. No, God loves variety. He loves differences. He doesn't say we all have to be lemmings, right, and just fall right off of the cliff. No, He's not saying that at all. He's saying, you can have unity, even in diversity. And He's not talking about solving that problem by political correctness. That's not the answer.

So, how do we solve the problem? How do we bring unity within our congregation, within the greater Body of Christ? How do we bring that? How is it possible to have unity and diversity? All right, let's think about that for just a moment. In fact, 1 Corinthians, I think gives a little bit of a key to that first step that's so important. Turn over a couple of chapters to chapter 12. 1 Corinthians 12:8, it makes the point very strongly here that if we're going to have the kind of unity that God calls for, we have to understand each other. There has to be an understanding that not only do we understand, but we seek it out. We engender understanding between each other within the Church.

1 Corinthians 12:8, notice the way that Paul puts it here. He says, "One is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the same Spirit, to another working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues or languages, and another the interpretation of languages." And so, he's talking about various spiritual gifts that God gives. And it's interesting that what do those different gifts, those different abilities and talents, you might say, that God gives, are those things that separate us?

Are those things that say, "Well, my gift is better than you, or I'm smarter than you, or I'm more talented than you?" No, he says, verse 11, "One and the same Spirit works in all of these, distributed to each one individually as He wills. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one, so is Christ." Now we know that analogy, we understand that. But when we recognize the facet that's going to bring us together, that same Spirit. And it's mentioned over and over and over again in these few verses here, isn't it? If you look back at verse 8, through the Spirit, at the end of that verse, the same Spirit, the same Spirit, again mentioned in verse 9, by the same Spirit. And by that Spirit, it's working. And we understand each other. We seek to understand.

In fact, He says, we have to come to this point to accept that, yeah, we are different and we have different abilities, different gifts that are God-given. But when we submit ourselves to God, that diversity comes together to honor, and worship, and praise God, and build the Body. And so this judging others, putting people in categories, discounting people, that's not where it's at. We can't presume to judge someone as lesser or inferior or useless. He says, "We're gunning for trouble if that's the case." And Corinth had done that. And so he's telling them, "Seek to understand each other. Get to know each other. Recognize that God uses these various things and brings it together for good. It's all for good." In fact, it reminds me of Hebrews 10:24, where we're reminded there that we're to “stir one another up to love and good works.”

And I think sometimes we stir each other up and we get excited about things and we get bent out of shape over things and we're stirred up all right, but not in the way that God intends us to be stirred up. Stir up to love and good works, to understand that we're all different due to God's plan and His purposes, and not everybody has to be just like me. Like, could you imagine how bad that would be? Yeah, they don't have to…  We don't have to be all exactly the same to be righteous. We don't all have to be exactly the same when it comes to preferences and to be converted. That's not the way it should be. To be acceptable in my group, you better be like this, no, that's not the way it's supposed to be.

And so, Paul told the Corinthians, this understanding and that seeking to understand has to be there if we're going to build unity in the body. Of course, he goes on from there as well, and I think touches on another vital aspect that sometimes we may overlook or maybe, oftentimes, we think it's someone else's job. You know what that is? To nurture. Nurturing. We need to nurture each other within the Church, within our congregation. And it's not just one person's job or just a handful of individuals. No, we need to respect each other and we need to value each other. And this week should remind us, we need to have a thankful attitude when it comes to each other because that impacts unity. In fact, one of the Proverbs, I think, brings this out in a unique kind of a way.

Proverbs 11:25 speaks to this nurturing aspect, that this isn't just a female thing. Well, females they should be nurturers, you know, the men should be the lead. Well, we all need to be nurtured. We all need to be respected. We all need to be valued. And this concept of nurturing tends to bring that to our minds. So, in Proverbs 11:25 in the New King James, it puts it this way. It says, "The generous soul will be made rich" or nurtured, I suppose you might say, "and he who waters will also be watered himself." Now, of course, this soul is talking about this whole being, the whole being, this individual, a generous individual… In fact, New Living says "The generous will prosper. And those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed."

And so that concept of, we nurture others and we are nurtured as well. The message says something like those who bless others are abundantly blessed. And those who help are helped. And so you have this beautiful symbiosis here that… it all works together very beautifully. Because we all need to be valued. We all need to be loved. We all need to be needed. We all need to be nurtured. And when we're valued, there's an appreciation there. We're put down, feels destructive, we feel out of place. And so, this idea of being acknowledged, that there shouldn't be a soul that comes to church and feels like nobody even knows they're there, nobody even recognizes them. It shouldn't be like that at all.

And so I think what we need to ask ourselves, "Well, how much do I really value others? Do I really value others or not?" I mean, it's one thing to ask that but how am I showing that I value others? What in my actions, my behavior show that I do appreciate, I'm nurturing others? Because that's an important aspect. Because this world is so backwards when it comes to that. You know, how does our world look at it? You know, I think the axiom out there is, if I can step on everybody below me, it'll raise me up. And I do that by putting others down. And we don't feel valuable, we feel used. Anybody feel used on their job at all? Their's, you know, to do the bidding of the company. They don't really care about me. Can't be that way in the Church.

And so, showing this appreciation, that I really do value others. And then I take the time, that it's evident in who I am and what I do, to nurture and show respect and care. In fact, in the book of Romans, Paul puts it a little bit differently. Romans 12:10, familiar passage. But when we see it through these eyes of being a nurturing individual, I think it kind of jumps out at you a little bit. Romans 12:10, it says, "Be kindly affectionate to one another." Well, we're nurturing one another. It says, "With brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another." So, our preferences shouldn't divide us, that we prefer someone else over ourselves.

And so, I don't think that's something you can fake. Either you got it or you don't. And so, it's talking about love and, you know, as we think about this idea of being a nurturing person, it's something that comes from within us. It's not just an action, it's about who we are. And we care deeply. We're concerned about others in a deep way like we mentioned in John 13. We're demonstrating Christ-like love, and we're putting it into practice. And self begins to take a backseat in that regard. And so, Paul is reminding us, "Yes, this is exactly what we need to do.”

And there's no excuses when it comes to race or gender, or any of those things, even genetics. Sometimes it's hardest to get along with people in your own family. Do you ever notice that? Some will say, "Well, it's a genetic thing." I did read something interesting about genetics the other day. And it was a little article that was talking about jokes and humor, and that there is actually a connection to genetics. Now, I know you all think I'm setting up a joke here but I'm not. This is actual reality, that scientists have actually discovered a genetic variant of a particular gene, and that gene is 5-HTTLPR. And if you have that variant gene, you're more likely to express laughing and smiling, and those positive expressions is the way that they put it.

And so, do you have that gene 5…? Well, it's actually serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region. Yeah, if you got it, you probably like jokes. Even bad dad jokes, right? And I was telling somebody about this the other day, they said, "Yeah, that's true but did you notice it says it's a genetic variant? So you're a variant." Okay, that was not appreciating our differences there, I guess, no. But the point is, God appreciates us. And we do have to nurture. So because I don't like certain hymns we sing, I can't appreciate the fact that someone else likes those? "I don't like those new sounding songs. They're terrible." Well, really? Can't we appreciate the fact that others like them? Because they seem to be able to appreciate you like the oldy moldy ones. Can we do that or do we have to fight and fuss over those things?

It seems like we get into those silly differences, and we're not nurturing. And so, that's the challenge. Just realizing that all of us together, what others provide is ultimately good, and it should be good. And we must use it and progress toward good for the Body, for the Church. Now, of course, to have that unity that God expects us to have, another facet is required, and that is the fact that we must imitate Christ. We have to be imitators. We have to have His perspective. We have to have His humility, His patience.

There's a good summary passage of this in Ephesians 4. You'll probably recognize this as soon as we begin to read it because Paul talks about these various aspects of godly character. I mean, we are called, and in this conversion process, we're supposed to grow in the character of Christ. We're putting on holy, righteous, spiritual character. That's what we're about. And God expects us to do that. And to do that, we better look to the Master. We have to imitate Him. And so Paul says, "Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called." And so, what about that calling? Verse 2, "With all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

And notice the connection then, even though we are different, there's one Body, one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all and in you all. But each one of us, Grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Yeah, we are given the gift of grace and God expects a return on that investment, doesn't He? I mean, He expects us to put on all of these things. And as we strive to imitate Christ, I mean, the topic of the day, we're not going to put down others. We're not going to minimize others. We're going to have a humble approach to life. We're going to appreciate the differences. And we're not going to major in the minors, right? We're not going to get off track that way. We're not going to have a superiority in our own thinking. We're not going to ridicule other's thoughts or opinions about different things or their ideas. We're not going to make mountains out of molehills.

And here, we're told, it doesn't happen automatically. Well, just because I'm converted, this should just automatically be, right? Wrong. It doesn't happen automatically. Verse 3, He says, "Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit…” and that doesn't mean well, it'd be nice if you tried to do this once in a while. No, you look up that word for endeavoring in the Greek. That means you're going to have to work on it, you're going to have to labor. It's going to take striving to have this kind of unity. So, you have to be diligent and you have to be zealous in your approach. And so, that brings questions to mind. Well, how much do I really imitate Christ? Have you ever thought of putting a list together and say, "Well, in this attribute, I'm doing okay but boy, do I need to change and grow over here?" You might say, "Well, it's kind of hard to put a list together." Well, here's one right here.

Ephesians 4, it's got a number of things, where it talks about lowliness, and gentleness, and long-suffering, bearing with one another. Am I really striving, and working, and laboring to be Christ-like in those aspects? And what are the things that I'm actually doing? What are my actions that reflect my thoughts when it comes to that? Can I justify the grade I give myself, by looking at the actions that follow? You know, that's where it's at. And so, imitating Christ certainly has to be key if we're going to build unity within the Church. And, of course, when you have this opinion about something, and I have that opinion, and you like chicken, and I like beef, sometimes that's it or you homeschool, and I don't, those kinds of things, you're a masker, and I'm an unmasker. I don't know, we get into so many silly things at times.

Another important aspect is that we have to tolerate each other. And not the kind of, "Okay fine. I'll put up with it." It can't be the grit your teeth kind of toleration that we're talking about here. There has to be a compassion. There has to be a care. There has to be some sense of patience with each other, which is kind of the opposite of being biased, opposite of being prejudiced, that we're willing to tolerate each other so that the Body can grow. I forgot to tell you to hold your place here in Romans. If you go back to Romans 14… Don't feel bad, I did the same thing this morning. I forgot to tell them to hold their place there. Romans 14, it points out to this very fact.

Romans 14, right at the very beginning of the chapter, talk about having a compassion and a toleration for each other. Paul tells the Romans, "Here's your perspective that you need to have." He says, "Receive one who is weak in the faith, but do not dispute over… or not to dispute over doubtful things." So we're to be acceptant, we're to be tolerant. We're not passing judgment. We're not putting down their opinions. We're not quarreling over these minor things. He says, "That's not worth it." And, of course, this is not saying we should accept sin, this is not saying, "Oh, put up with wrong teachings or false doctrines." That's not what it's talking about here at all. It's not even about opinions about things, doing this or that. It's not talking about keeping the commandments. It's not talking about those things at all.

And so, what we find here is, God says, "Don't debate with them. Don't argue with them. Have compassion and toleration for people and realize, you know, just because you think that doesn't mean that's what they should think. That shouldn't be forced upon them." In fact, what I think is not always right. Don't tell my wife that. You got to come to that point in our lives to recognize, just because this is my opinion, it doesn't mean it's always best. And so, when He says, "Receive one…" that means to bear with. Some translations even say that bear with them, have that compassion, in other words, have a type of an open-arms approach, ready to take people in, even though they may be different.

And I think that's so key. Because what does that focus on then? It focuses on the person rather than the difference. And I think that's so important is that it's about the person and not the opinion. And so, isn't that what God's about? Isn't He about people? He wants to bring all to repentance. That's what He's about. And so, I think when we begin to do that, and we begin to listen and tolerate each other, we might even find, wow, they got some interesting ideas. There's some interesting thoughts there. They may be even right, and we can actually benefit from those kinds of things.

And so, that's such a difference from the way that political correctness and the diversity of this world is all about. Because when you come down to it, in a sense, we do have to embrace diversity, not the way the world does. But if we're to succeed in the Church of God, I think that is a fifth step in this whole process, that embracing… Okay, right now, maybe we can't hug each other with this whole COVID thing, but that concept is that we have to hang on to each other. We have to welcome each other. We have to hold others valuable and be inclusive, don't we? We can't be exclusive. And so, it's a reminder that if we're going to come together as one, yes, we have to collectively then embrace the truth and be open and welcoming with each other, no matter what. And so, that may mean, "Oh, I actually probably should talk to those ABC students who were here for nine months and not just avoid them because yeah, they're going to go anyway later, what's the difference?"

No, we're open. And if we haven't spoken with somebody, make an effort to do that. Reach out to each other. Talk, and listen, and demonstrate you're caring. And I think, well, this time of the year, we say, thank you, but we need to do that often. Be thankful for people. Let them know. Isn't it nice to be appreciated? I think we all need a pat on the back once in a while. And so, this speaks to that very thing, receive one another, and do that in a positive way. Especially if someone's weak in the faith, be ready to embrace them, be ready to help them. And so, I can ask myself, do I really help others to feel appreciated? Do we alienate people or do we welcome them? Do we embrace them? Or maybe if they're going to be my friend, they got to conform exactly the way I think and what I feel about everything. It's not going to work that way, is it? It's not going to work. Now, of course, doctrine is a whole nother situation. But we do recognize that there's a difference between true doctrine. There's a difference between that and Biblical principle. And then, personal opinion, there's a huge difference between that and preference.

And so, we receive, we embrace, we take them in as a friend and a fellow brother, or sister in Christ. One translation even says we “grant them access to the heart.” Because it is a heart issue, isn't it? It's a heart issue. We are brothers and sisters. And so, we embrace the calling that we've been given. And collectively we have a duty and responsibility to each other. And so, if we don't know them, get to know them. If we don't understand them, begin to reach out, embrace them. And so that we can see the benefits that we all bring to the table because we never, never should divide. That was the lesson to Corinth. Never divide. Can't divide over the incidentals. It's ridiculous.

Now, there is one other passage that I thought might be a helpful one to look at that is kind of a summary of these various facets. And it's found over in Galatians 3:26. Galatians 3:26, I think is kind of a summary passage that emphasizes these various facets and begins to show the outcome. What are the outcomes of this kind of an approach within the Body of Christ? And Galatians 3, I think speaks to this very thing. Notice verse 26, it says, "For you are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ.” God's brought us together. We're a whole one, even though we're so very different. Verse 27, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." So that's our identity. He says, "There's neither Jew nor Greek, there's neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ."

So even though we are different, and God created those differences and allows for differences, we're told here, together, the whole, the Body of Christ, is stronger than if every one of us were just yellow pencils and exactly alike. Because we can bring different facets of the wonderful attributes of God to the table. And that will make this beautiful jewel, as we bring our facets together to really make a shining example of the Church of God. And so, applying these five facets, if we actually do that, if we put these into the practice in our daily life, what happens? What's the result? I mean, if you've been taking notes, take a look at these five facets.

In fact, you'll see, there's an acronym here. If we understand, U, we nurture each other, N, we imitate Christ, I, we tolerate and accept each other, T, and we embrace one another, E. What's the result? We unite. And so, let's live our calling. Let's submit ourselves to the Spirit of God and take action because God has empowered us to do that very thing, that we can do all of these things. And as we put these into practice, we eliminate anything that separates us, and then we begin to realize that it's true in the Body of Christ, we can have unity in diversity.