Love me with my essentials!

During my secondary school days, I came across a card that a young man sent to his fiancée with the inscription – Love me with my essentials! Interestingly, the front cover of the card had a picture of a monkey holding a banana, which indicated a plea from the young man that his fiancée should love him genuinely, even if he looked like a monkey and had only a banana. Love me with my essentials! Essential features within a group of believers would be a symbolism for the things that are different between and among the people and churches of Jesus Christ.

Several passages in the Bible make it clear that God created people differently, such as stated in 1 Corinthians 12:13 (NIV) – “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” This points to the almighty God as the originator of diversity and variety. He has created each person to be different and special by design. It therefore follows that the different cultures around the world are directly linked to the diversity of people that God has created and situated in different parts of the world. Consequently, the church of God must be open and welcoming to people of all tribes, nationalities, socio-economic standing and every other attribute that makes people diverse. The ability to recognise and appreciate the beauty that is inherent in diversity must be a godly gift. Regrettably, however, for many people, differences become synonymous with suspicion, fear and discomfort. This has led to matters such as discrimination, prejudice and treating others unfairly because they look and act differently from us. In this regard, Hebrews 13:1 admonishes followers of Jesus Christ to ‘let brotherly love continue’. This has to be so, despite our essential differences.

The requirement for followers of Jesus to walk together and pursue unity is not an optional one. It is a commandment to be obeyed as stated in I John 4:21 (NIV) – “And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister“. Verse 20 of 1 John 4 clarifies that if a person claims to love God but hates their fellow believing brothers and sisters, then such a person is a liar. It thus behoves Christians to make every effort to walk and work together to promote love, peace and unity among us, notwithstanding the essential personal and denominational differences.

I call to our remembrance the theme for the 2026 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) – One Body, One Spirit – derived from Ephesians 4:4 and urge that we continue to make every effort to promote the visible unity of the Body of Christ even when there are essential differences between us.

Pastor (Dr) Marcus Chilaka is the National Pastor for Ecumenism at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), United Kingdom. He was appointed as an Ecumenical Canon of the Lichfield Diocese of the Church of England in 2022. He is also a university Assistant Professor of Public Health.