Virginia painted our front door purple, think “Mardi Gras and LSU” – a shocking, in-your-face PURPLE! Even she admitted that she missed her intended color. When I started a conversation about the door color she was quick to remind me that my favorite color is khaki and people whose favorite color is khaki, “Don’t get a vote” on color. Presently, there are five differing shades of violet painted on the front door. I have no idea what color will win, but I know it will be OK, and she will be satisfied. And truly, in the end, it really doesn’t matter what color the front door is painted. Because, I know her and she will paint it a different color next year. God ordained relationships. He made us for a relationship with Him and with others. And, in all these relationships we can expect to encounter differences in other people: quirks, habits, personalities, differing perspectives, and senses of humor. And we go through life bumping elbows with these unique people. And in these relationships, we have to decide what’s important. Are we Christians really going to argue about paint colors when truly some things just don’t matter? Jesus said, “They will know us by our love.” We have to learn how to get along. We have to find our ‘sameness’ in Jesus and leave room to value the differences.
– Dr. Tim Thompson