Romans 12:4-5 – Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (NIV)

One day recently, I had to attend a meeting in St. Catharines, in the midst of Ontario's fruit- and flower-growing farmland. The meeting, to plan for a ministry in a prison, was in a beautiful church set in the middle of a field of growing gladiolas. They were not yet in bloom, but one could imagine how beautiful the surroundings of that place would be in a few weeks. What really caught my eye, however, was a field with row upon row of seedling evergreen trees, each about two feet high. Each little tree seemed different from the rest in some way. Some were tall and thin, others short and broad, so many shapes and sizes. I smiled to myself and thought, "How like the Christian church!"

There are so many differences among its members. Each of us was created by a God who loves diversity and has a need, it seems, for many different types of people to complete His work here upon this earth. Jesus even told a story about a field with weeds among the grain, telling us not to try to pull the weeds out. Maybe He could tell that even some of them would turn out to be useful or beautiful in some way! What a joy to be growing in His garden! What a blessing to know that fat or thin, tall or short, He loves each of us in His own special way and sees the beauty in each one of us!

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for having planted us where You did. Thank You for the bliss of letting us continue to grow in the sunshine of Your smile and the rain of Your nurture. Please bless all the others in Your garden today and let them realize the joy of being part of Your plan to make the world beautiful. Amen.

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