The beauty of diversity

October 1, 2007

By Gary Rogers

In Matthew 9:27-30 Jesus waited until He and two blind men were in a private setting inside a house before He healed them. In Matthew 20:29-34 Jesus touched the eyes of two blind men along a busy road with a multitude of people looking on and restored the pair’s sight.

According to John 9:1-7 Jesus spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva and used this mixture to anoint the eyes of a blind man, and then told him to go wash off in the pool of Siloam. In Mark 8:22-25 Jesus took a man out of town and spit on his eyes. The man said, “I see men like trees, walking.” Then Jesus put His hands on the man’s eyes and he was healed.

I see a beautiful diversity in these miracles. It is as if Jesus was saying, “Let me show you how many different ways I can meet the same need.” Many people have a problem with diversity. It’s as if people want to build a ministry around spitting and making mud. “Our mud is the most holy mud in all Christianity. You’ve not experienced mud till you’ve been in one of our services. If you don’t use mud with your praise and worship you’re missing God.”

People like to focus on methods. In the diversity of Jesus, He was letting us know it is not so much how you do it. Yes, there are absolute, immovable, uncompromising biblical principles to which we must hold. On the other hand, there are methods in serving and worshipping the Lord that people have made far too important.

Just because someone has another preference, style or approach doesn’t mean they are wrong and you are right. It may be they are just different. It may be they come from a different culture or heritage. What a boring world it would be if we were all alike. We need to see the diversity in the way Jesus accomplished the miraculous and understand we can have that same diversity in our representing Him.

Gary Rogers is senior pastor of First Assembly of God in Coweta, Okla.