Christian Living

---

Manifest the Sweet Savor of God's Son
I Tim.1:5; I Pet.1:22

Truly it grieves God's heart that so many of His dear children squabble or cold-shoulder one another, not over specific sins committed, but over mere personality differences. One woman likes this style of dress, another woman chooses this way to decorate her home. One man loves soccer and rugby football, another man is quiet and reticent and plays golf instead of rough contact sports. Ever notice how it rubs a sports addict the wrong way to be around a laid-back couch potato? Some guys aren't into sports at all and just sit in front of their computer much of the day. Some people like to gab a lot and they're very loud in the way they interact with others. Even their clothing is loud, and this might irk a conservative type who needs a narrow tie to look successful. Some people find it a challenge to interact socially at all, and when they do manage to make friends, they have to work hard at keeping them. Some folks have a hearty sense of humor while others are so solemn they would be mortified to chuckle in church.

So long as God's Word is not violated and all things are done in a true spirit of Christlike love, it is no sin to be different. The loud worshipper should not look down on the man sitting next to him who quietly bows his head and only whispers his love to Jesus. God has accepted both of them into His forever family and He loves them both equally. When you like only those who are exactly like yourself, what does this amount to except self-love, or loving what you subconsciously perceive as an extension of yourself? Did God create just one mold to churn out billions of identical cookie-cutter Christians?

Consider the world of fruit God has created. There are countless varieties and sub-species, some of which you'll never get around to trying in this life. There are apples, pears, plums, peaches, oranges, and grapes of many varieties. Even dried-up prunes are full of sweetness, though they look like some of the glum faces you'll encounter in church. And God didn't make just one kind of berry, either. There's strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. All with flavors of their own. But they commit no sin in being different. It is expected that a banana will taste just like a banana, not like a sour lemon. When we eat a piece of fruit we're looking for sweetness. We taste fructose, or fruit sugar, in fruits. We don't taste very much of it in lemon, but it is there in minute quantities. A lemon's taste is dominated by the sour element which helps to make it a lemon.

A lemon is a very useful fruit, but it is not one which is easy to eat by itself. You have to add some kind of sugar to a lemon to choke it down. You can more easily eat a fruit which is obviously sweet, and a banana is different from a blueberry. Yet the sweetness of the fructose manifests itself through the personality of each type of fruit.

God desires that Jesus to be manifested through each unique personality He has made. He wants the sweet nature of Christ to shine abundantly through the soft pastel of the quiet personality as well as through the bold color of the outgoing personality. Be patient with the couch potato in your midst. Baseball is not a sin. And it is not a sin to go swimming or go on rides at the fun park. Don't be a sour lemon Christian who's always looking for the worst in others who may differ with you on matters covered by Christian liberty.

• * * * *

[email protected]
http://www.kingdomageministry.com
http://toughlovebook.tripod.com
http://boogerbucks.tripod.com

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE