Unity in Diversity
God’s Plan in a Diversity of Gifts—In all the Lord’s arrange-
ments, there is nothing more beautiful than His plan of giving to men
and women a diversity of gifts. The church is His garden, adorned with
a variety of trees, plants, and flowers. He does not expect the hyssop to
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assume the proportions of the cedar, nor the olive to reach the height
of the stately palm. Many have received but a limited religious and
intellectual training, but God has a work for this class to do if they will
labor in humility, trusting in Him.—
Letter 122, 1902
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Characters as Varied as the Flowers—From the endless variety
of plants and flowers, we may learn an important lesson. All blossoms
are not the same in form or color. Some possess healing virtues. Some
are always fragrant. There are professing Christians who think it their
duty to make every Christian like themselves. This is man’s plan, not
the plan of God. In the church of God there is room for characters as
varied as are the flowers in a garden. In His spiritual garden there are
many varieties of flowers.—
Letter 95, 1902
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Diverse in Mind and Ideas—Diverse in mind, in ideas, one sub-
ject is to bind heart to heart—the conversion of souls to the truth,
which draws all to the cross.—
Letter 31, 1892
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Special Talents for Special Work—One worker may be a ready
speaker; another a ready writer; another may have the gift of sincere,
earnest, fervent prayer; another the gift of singing; another may have
special power to explain the Word of God with clearness. And each
gift is to become a power for God, because He works with the laborer.
To one God gives the word of wisdom, to another knowledge, to
another faith; but all are to work under the same Head. The diversity
of gifts leads to a diversity of operations; but “it is the same God which
worketh all in all.”
1 Corinthians 12:6
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The Lord desires His chosen servants to learn how to unite together
in harmonious effort. It may seem to some that the contrast between
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their gifts and the gifts of a fellow laborer is too great to allow them
to unite in harmonious effort; but when they remember that there are
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