Each Journey is Unique

        Each of our journeys with the Lord are unique to who He made us to be and what purpose we were called for. My journey is not going to look like your journey, we may have similar points to our journeys, and may have learned some of the same lessons, but they will still be unique to us and our relationship with the Lord. Just like how a parent has a unique relationship with each of their children. The children may have similar experiences and lessons but each child learns and responds differently, giving them a slightly different experience and a slightly different perspective from the other. Their personal experience with their parents cannot be replicated in another child, because that child is unique in how they learn, process, and react. One child may learn well from verbal cues, whereas their sibling may need to learn from consequences for the lesson to stick and to get understanding of why rules are in place. With one child a parent may allow a certain thing, but with the sibling they may not, this is again because of the differences in the children, one may be able to handle that particular responsibility or privilege wisely while their sibling cannot.
        This thought came to me after I saw a couple of people arguing over differing church doctrines. In one church they taught and practiced that all women must be make up free and wear long dresses or skirts, where in the other church they believed that it was ok for women to wear pants or jeans and allowed them to wear make up. Neither side would back down and both were determined to be found right. And really, I think they both were right.    
         Another example of this same sort of thing is Saturday Sabbath versus Sunday Sabbath. Most Catholic and Protestant churches and some home churches hold service on Sundays. But some like the Seventh day Adventist, some other smaller groups, and even many home churches hold to Saturday services. Both sides have their arguments and reasons why they think their way is right or at very least permissible, and both are often up to argue about it. Personally, I used to attend Sunday service but in the past few years I have been led to Saturday service, and from that transition I discovered that both is okay, that both can build your relationship to God, but that pride and a desire to elevate your own holy status or defend it can be the real hindrance.
        Maybe I'm wrong, and I really could be so please pray about it and ask God to guide your own thoughts and opinions on this, but when I see these kinds of disputes I think about what I mentioned earlier, I think about the differences in relationships between children and the same parents. For me,  I saw that one group of children could be allowed make up and pants, because they could handle that privilege and responsibility. For them it didn't feed into vanity and didn't become a hinderance to their relationship with God, while in the other group, those people may have been led there because for them it could. For one group of worshippers I see children who hold to God's original established Sabbath while the others take their freedom from the law to set apart another day to honor God and gather with other believers.
      We need to understand one another, especially in the body of Christ. We need to accept the differences in how and when we worship, and we need to forgive those who walk differently with Jesus than we do. We are each different, we have each been called for different seasons, different purposes and different places, but God loves each of us. Should we call out falsehoods being taught in the church, of course!! Should we correct a brother or sister who errs, yes. But we don't need to war with one another, we don't need to cut each other down to elevate our own holiness, this is a trap meant to destroy the church,. and frankly it's one that I see winning. If we are one body, let us start acting like it, let us let go of or desire to be right and holy and look to the one who is holy. Let us stop our bickering and love each other where they are, where we are and set our differences aside for the unity of brotherly love.  Be blessed brothers and sisters, in Yeshua's name.

Luke 11:17
But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.

1 Corinthians 12:21-26
²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²² On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, ²⁴ which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, ²⁵ that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶ If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

Ephesians 4:3-6   
Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Titus 3:9-11   
But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned