Christian Individuality

Recently, I saw a beautiful video on how snowflakes are formed. No two of these beautiful crystal formations are alike.  At one point in the video, a long-haired dog runs through the snow catching  the small white sparkly patterned pieces of frozen water molecules in his fur. The author described this cute frolicking canine as a literal art museum of thousands of works of divine art.

Humans are also very individual in design. We all have unique patterns of DNA arrangements. Our minds are all different and compounded by a variety life experiences.  I have three sisters and even though we were born into the same family, all four of us are uniquely different. We don't have the exact same pattern of DNA nor do we have the the same exact life experiences.

Every born-again believer in the New Testament era has the opportunity to receive the gift of holy spirit. Through Jesus Christ we have full access to this gift and it uniquely resides in each of us. Each one of us develops as a member of the body of Christ to worship God and love others in very unique ways (I Corinthians 12:11-27). Through the spirit, God works within us to do his works of love.

Our individuality to God is priceless. God loves to speak to the heart of an individual. He loves to strengthen  and encourage individuals.  In the Old Testament God spoke to people through others. God speaks to us now through the spirit and through His word. He can still talk to us through others when he needs to, but God prefers to come to each of us.

The 'church' of God is not a building but a collection of those who are tapped in to God. 'Church' can be at home, in school, at a playground, on the beach, in an elevator, even on the telephone, in texts and zooms or just about anywhere those who love God gather. The 'church' lives within and around the hearts of his spiritual sons and daughters.

Know ye not that ye (plural) are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16

The groups of people who gathered around God's word at the time of the 1st century were very different from some of what we see in some 'churches' today. Jesus said that where ever 'two or three are gathered in my name' that he would be among them (Matthew 18:20). People in the time of the book of Acts  got together daily. The word was interwoven in their lives and conversation often was in the form of thankfulness. Each person in the community had a unique contribution to each other. When people support, encourage, and remind one another how involved God is in their lives, people absolutely flourish, increase in strength and enjoy life more.  That is what the 'church' is meant to be.

God's View And Our View

God's view is bigger than ours

In the Old Testament, there is a familiar record of the man who owned a coat of many colors. His name was Joseph and he  was a member of a large family.  His father, Jacob, had 12 sons by four mothers.  Family dynamics provided fertile opportunities for sibling rivalry to abound. Joseph was a favorite son and as a result was thrown into a ditch and left to die by his brothers. Could a God who gives all men free-will, stop them? God saved Joseph by another route, since he could not by force the brothers to change their minds. A traveling caravan rescued Joseph and took him to Egypt where he rose to the top becoming the Pharaoh's right-hand man. Joseph, who had the spirit of God working with him was very resourceful in agricultural and economic wisdom to prepare for a future famine that would change the known world at that time.

When the famine eventually came and reached his family back home, they had to find sources of food. They heard that Egypt was doing well and traveled to Egypt for help. They did not know Joseph was alive and prosperous leading Egypt through the crisis. Though several interactions, his family realized who he was and they were thankful for his help. He lovingly responded:

20 But as for you, you meant (weaved) evil against me; but God meant (weaved) it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Genesis 50:20

Did God cause his brothers to do evil so that good could come? Did he allow it to happen? People interpret God's role in many different ways.  A closer look at this verse and looking at the word "meant", which is used in verse 20, clarifies what happened. While it is recorded that the brothers devised a plan to get rid of Joseph; we read that God devised a plan and weaved all the circumstances together to produce good. God did not have one thing to do with the evil that was imposed on Joseph.

Strong's Concordance shows this word to be the Hebrew word 'chasab' and they define it as: "A primitive root; properly, to plait or interpenetrate, i.e. (literally) to weave or (gen.) to fabricate;...."

Many people question the goodness of God when they don't understand the writings of the Old Testament. They discredit the Bible because of misunderstanding. This particular point about the meaning of a word in another language is just one of the ways misinterpretation of the Bible occurs. Other examples of language confusion result from not understanding Hebrew idioms like the 'idiom of permission'. There are also other categories like historical background, oriental culture, or understanding God's point of view versus man's point of view. However when we just sit down and read, we become distinctly aware of how loving God is. Why would the Bible declare so much about the goodness of God? There is no evil in him or darkness or heavy pressure in his love. The Bible does not contradict itself.

God is also the author of freedom.  Free-will choice is a big deal to him. Over and over in the Old Testament, there are stories of men and women who freely chose to walk with God and those who chose otherwise. There are also records of imperfect people who did things that were contrary to God and God continued to help them when they chose to do things that God recommended for their best interest. David is a great example.

God doesn't cause evil! Evil is not omniscient. God has a heavenly view of all things and works things for the good (Romans 8:28) for those who love him and look to him for help. Human nature hasn't changed through the ages, and, more importantly, God hasn't changed. If we see the things going on around us through the media's eyes, politicians or even each other, we lose. Religious opinions will also fool us: 

2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. Romans 10:2

When people don't humbly look to God for answers things spiral out of control and we miss out on the genuine joy and other fruits of trusting God. Read the rest of chapter 10 of Romans, it is very enlightening to the heart!