When Will We Become United?

And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:27-28 

 

Why do we spend so much time and effort focusing on our differences instead of our commonalities?  

 

Didn't God create all of us in His image?

 

Yet we want to be divisive instead of uniting.  Why?

 

Yes, we do have differences, but we all share things in common.  For example, when the heart stops, we die.  Ever hear of anyone living a regular life with no heartbeat?

 

You see, the truth of Christ is simple: We are all the same in His eyes.  He died for me just like He died for you.  He never said, "I'll hang on this cross only for those who are over 6' tall with green hair" now did He?  

 

I don't care who you are, in Christ we are family (don't look so scared).

We Have A Choice!

Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking, so he said to them, “Every kingdom that is divided against itself will be destroyed. And any city or family that is divided against itself will not continue."

Matthew 12:25 

Abraham Lincoln said "A house divided against itself will not stand" which comes from Mark 3:25.  As we approach the Inauguration of the 45th President of the United States, let me ask you...Are we truly living in the "United States"?  Are we United?

I hear and read many comments, diatribes, opinion columns, and other communications, that would indicate that we are not, and have no intention of ever being united as a nation.  Have we wandered so far from God that we forget that HE is ultimately in control and sometimes He reminds us of that by allowing those we do not necessarily agree with to be in power over us.

For those who are wishing to boycott the Inauguration because you disagree with the person becoming our President, no worries, your presence will not be missed as much as you may think.  For those who wish to disrupt the Inauguration, I have to wonder if you disagreed with your parents did you disrupt their lives to try to get your way?

The point I am hoping you will see is this: We are a nation divided.  We have been for a long time.   And instead of becoming a people who prays for those who have been placed in leadership over us, we want to become even more divisive.  Let me urge each person who truly believes in prayer to offer thanks that we live in a country where we are still permitted to pray and also pray that God will change our nation's hearts to one of unity instead of divisiveness.

The best place to begin is with the face in the mirror and then extend that out to those you see every day and then extend that out to those who see occasionally.  We don't have to agree on everything to be united.  We start by agreeing to become united as people!  

What Do You Mean 'We're Similar'?

Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our likeness. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

~Genesis 1:26

We are made in the likeness of God.  That may be difficult to fathom, and a bit daunting, but God decided to make humans in His likeness.  In today's photo you see my Grampa on the left, and I am on the right.  You can see that we share a likeness.  Why? Because we come from the same bloodline and the same gene pool (and I just heard my Bride groan). Therefore, I have many of the same traits as my Grampa (like it or not).

But it doesn't stop there!  Every single human being that has ever existed or will exist is made in God's likeness, we ALL share traits of God.  And we are just like each other in more ways than we imagine.  Some tend to believe that the pigmentation of the skin is where we are to draw the line of similarities.  But guess what? God didn't stop at the skin pigmentation.

Consider this:

     * We all must breathe

     * We all must have water

     * We all need love

     * We are all born helpless.

     * We all have a skeleton.

     * We all have blood that flows through us.

     * We all have the same organs inside.

     * We all have a brain (whether we use it or not)

     * We all feel pain (physical, emotional, spiritual)

     * We all were born (none of us hatched or were found under a cabbage leaf or were dropped off by a stork)

     * We all have a purpose. (God does not make mistakes)

     * We all are really good at messing up. (Which is why Jesus came to die for us).

     * We all have God's lifebreath within us.

You see, we have so many more similarities than mere skin color.  WE are the ones who create these boundaries and barriers.  WE are the ones who limit each other with our prejudices.  

Are we different?  Absolutely!  Not saying we're not.  But if we were all the same, nothing would be accomplished.  Let us delight in the fact that we are God's Creation!  He loves us enough to let us be part of His creation!  Be part of the celebration instead of part of the division!

We Really ARE One....When We Want To Be!

Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. 

~Hebrews 12:14-15

During the flooding which overwhelmed the residents of Columbia this past week, people worked together to help each other.  Entire communities reached out to those who suffered.  First Responders worked themselves to the point of exhaustion and still pushed on, because we became a single community of people.

Never once did I hear anything about race, beliefs, gender, preferences or any of the other irrelevant barriers WE have put in place.  For once, we realized that we all are part of the community of humanity.  People pitched in with manual labor; jumping right in to help with the clean up.  People opened their bank accounts and pantries to help provide for those who were without.  People gave and gave and gave!  

True, there were some who sought the spotlight, there were also some who became greedy, and even some who took this disaster as their opportunity to take what wasn't theirs.  But overall, people banded together; prayed for and with each other, accepted each other, cared about each other.

If God intended for us to be all the same, He would have stopped with Adam or Eve.  But God created us to join together as community, showing love to others regardless of our differences.

My question and challenge to ALL of us is this: When things return to normal, will we continue to see each other as a community or will the irrelevant divisive issues return?