It’s proverbial that everyone puts their pants on the same way: one leg at a time. And, not everyone wears the same size, type, or color of pants. Also, not everyone does the same work in their pants once they’ve got them on. This is not a deep parable.

We who come to the communion table hold something precious in common: our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. “The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16) We all share Christ, and we come to the table the same way, the only open way: by faith.

But we are not all equal in every way. We are equal in Christ and part of the same body, but we are not the same part of the body. “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body for we all partake of one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:17).

What does eating the “one bread” mean? It means that divisions are not allowed. But being “many” means that differences are assumed.

We have different testimonies, but one Savior. We have different parents and family backgrounds, but one Father in heaven. We have different spiritual gifts, but one Spirit who gives them. We have different tastes, but one goal to glorify God whether we eat or drink. We have different genders, but one Creator who made both male and female to bear His image. We have different futures, but also the same, proclaiming the Lord’s death until He comes.

“In one Spirit we are all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13). We come to the Table the same way and, once we’ve shared the same bread, we go out to follow the individual callings God has for us.