So Different, But Still the Same

by John Michalak

The LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. The LORD God made a woman from the rib which he had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man.”

Genesis 2:21-23

We are so different.

Men. Women. Adults. Children. Urban. Rural. Nationality. Race. There are so many differences, it sometimes feels like we need a translator to have a simple conversation.

But, despite our differences, we’re also the same. Male, female, Asian, American, most people generally want the same things: family, safety, respect, love, and truth.

In the beginning, this mystery was birthed: Man stood alone, but God brought him a woman—someone who was the same—created from his very flesh—and someone who was so different, who he would spend the rest of his life trying to understand.

To genuinely represent God’s love to others, we must reach out to those who are different—we must appreciate another person’s perspective. And we must never allow our differences to prevent us from joining together in the things that unify us, especially in our mutual need for God.

Prayer: Jesus, remind us how you embraced those who were different and showed us our mutual need to follow you.