‘tis a beautiful day, today.  Sun is bright, sky is blue, no wind. Or, at least started out that way, garden is now under the shadow of the clouds coming in. 

Not feeling real well today, so just taking it easy – won’t be able to take full advantage of the nice weather – or much else.

Luke 12:6-7 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?

⁷ But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

A friend sent a video of the cold regions of our world, including the Antarctic.  As I watched the hundreds of penguins in their tuxedo outfits I once again wondered how they can tell each other apart.  Of course closer examinations show some variances in each bird – but it is hard to distinguish.

It got me to thinking about the birds that nest on rocky cliffs, hundreds of them.  Each looks like the other.

Yet, they are different.  Each bird has its own nest.  Each bird has its own spouse, its own chicks.  When the parents leave the nest to gather food, they go back to their own chicks. 

Not the ones next to it, or over on the other side.  Not the most convenient nest, but their own.

Their chicks know their parents, and can find them among all the other birds, they don’t go to another female and say ‘mom’ they go to their own mother.

No two birds are exactly alike.  The same can be said of any animal family, there is something that distinguishes one from another.   

I often wonder about the statement that no two snowflakes are exactly alike – I mean, come on, there are trillions of snowflakes that come down all over the world each year and none are alike?  How do they know?

Okay, some scientist viewed hundreds, maybe even thousands under a microscope, he saw none of them alike – so no two snowflakes are alike.  Only the creator knows if that is actually true.

People, no two people are exactly alike, even identical twins have some differences – we may not be able to see it at first, but eventually, especially if we are around them enough, we can see the differences and tell them apart.

Billions of people currently inhabit the earth – no two fingerprints are the same, no eyes are the same, and now we learn even the tongue has a different print from anyone else.

One time an officer was taking a description from an Asian person.  During the course of the interview the witness said, that’s all I know – you all look alike.

The officer, a white person, gave him a quizzical look, and asked, we all look alike?  Yes, was the answer. 

But we have different colored hair, we are different in size and age and you can’t tell us apart?  You all look the same to me, was the reply.  He was serious.

Why?  Mainly because the Asian didn’t have much contact with whites and had not paid attention to the differences.

The same is true of most of us, we have difficulty telling Chinese from Japanese, from Koreans, etc.  For whites, black people often look alike until we get around them more and see the differences.  The same can probably be said of every race – at first it is difficult to determine who is who and where they are from (genetically as well as geographically.)

They all look alike until we get to know them.

It is true that many people have very similar characteristics of another, similar enough that sometimes one person can be confused for another. 

When police do a lineup they must match that suspect’s features as much as humanly possible – and when they get them all together it can be very difficult for a normal person to tell which is which – one of the reasons that lineups are only part of the evidence and not the most conclusive.

When I was a Realtor I remember meeting with the daughter of a client – she did a double take, without hearing anything from me, she said, “Now, I know why Dad likes you so well.”  If we stood next to each other the difference was obvious – he was taller, but if we weren’t one could be confused for the other.

There were many other differences, of course, but you had to be around us a bit to tell.  Both of us were Christians, both of larger proportions, we used many of the same phrases, but it would not belong before you could tell us apart.

As the old saw goes, you are unique, just like everyone else.

Billions of people have lived on this earth since Adam and Eve.

Billions have lived since Noah took his wife and sons and their wives on the Ark.

Not one is the same.

We are not clones.  We have many things in common – blood, skin, heart, lungs, etc. but we are different from everybody else.

Each of us is different from everyone, else, no matter how much we may seem to be the same.

It may take time, but we can usually tell the difference – God has no difficulty, He knows who is who from the time we are conceived.   

While we are unique, we share certain traits: desires, work, hobbies, goals, etc.  We embrace our differences and use them to provide food for our families, roofs over their heads and clothing on their backs.

We have different skill sets, that, when used, contribute to the common good of others.  Doctors are different from carpenters, they share certain skills, but they have different livelihoods and use those skills that are similar to accomplish something different.

God isn’t concerned about our differences, as we often are, but He does use our differences to reach others for Him.

A minister, while used of God, can contact or ‘get through’ to only so many people.  Others must have someone they can relate to and another Christian, following the leading of the Holy Spirit, can better present the gospel.  One is not better than the other (necessarily,) we just have different roles in our work.

We think that a minister should be a man of God – but, God expects the same of every Christian.

When we are asked to classify people we do it by age, color of skin, sex, hobbies, married or not, have children or not, and the classification can go on much further, color of eyes, color of hair, height, weight, country of origin – region within that country, etc.

But God doesn’t care about any of that; His classification is simple, just one of two:

Ecclesiastes 9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

John 15:4-6 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

⁵ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

⁶ If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

Billions upon Billions of people on this earth.  People of every conceivable shape, size nationality; male, female; old, young; rich, poor and the list goes on.

But God classifies everyone into just two categories, either we abide in Him through Christ or we do not.

Everyone.

Those that do not abide in Him will be cast off into the burning fires of hell.  Period.

There are billions of people without Christ.  We work, play and live with many of them.

We have the ability to tell them about the saving grace of Christ.

Are we?

Later, Art :-)