Identity II

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. (I Corinthians 1:10)

          And this quickly, the whole issue of identity gets all tangled up. I understand how some people can feel alienated in the church. I’m a single woman and when my father was alive, he wasn’t active in my church, partly because of his personality, and partly because of his hearing problems. There were times when I voiced an opinion that while Scripture only seems to allow men to be elders, it would be nice for there to be at least one woman to whom single women could go for counseling. This isn’t about rallying women to say, “Yeah, we want a female elder and we’re going to _____ until we get one!” I’m just saying that I understand how it feels to have no one just like me to represent me in the church body. The truth is, there are people just like me to whom I could go. They just don’t have authority in the church, to make sure they do what’s best for me. But the reality is, neither does a male elder. The church isn't supposed to be about power.
          But with any group of people, there are going to be some who want this, and some who want that. There are singles, marrieds, widows, male, female, people with different skin colors, different native languages, diverse cultures, different learning styles, different personality styles, different physical, emotional, or mental issues and needs, different ages ... the list is endless. God created or gave us over to a multitude of differences, but those differences shouldn’t define us. They are not our identity because that leads to division. Instead, our identity is in Christ Jesus. 
           Clinging to other identities is tempting, and comforting, but if who you are as a ________ is more important to you than who you are in Christ, what does that say about your relationship with Christ?