My husband graduated from Ensley High School in Birmingham, Alabama decades ago. Over the years we have run into numerous people who also graduated from Ensley. This might not seem so strange if we still lived in Birmingham. But we have lived all over the world since then, and yet, we keep meeting people who went to Vic's high school. They are everywhere: repairmen, deliverymen, people who drop by the office, visitors passing through town, the folks sitting next to us at the theater, the Sunday School teacher in a class we visited. They all attended the same high school located in a city we haven't lived in since 1975.
My favorite story about this connection happened when we were missionaries in Colombia, South America. We were studying Spanish in the capital city of Bogotá. We attended a church that shared its facilities with two congregations: the local Spanish-speaking residents and English expats that worked in international companies throughout the city. One group had a worship service while the other went to Bible study and then we swapped locations. During the half hour break for the changeover, both groups met in a central area for coffee and fellowship. During the break one Sunday, Vic and I walked over from the Spanish service and introduced ourselves to an American couple attending the English service for the first time.They had moved to Colombia due to a job transfer and had been in Bogotá just a few weeks. The husband said they were enjoying the experience of living in a different culture.Then he chuckled and said, "One of the main reasons I'm glad to be here is because everywhere we go, we meet people who went to the same high school as my wife. We are finally living in a place so far away that she won't run into any fellow graduates." The wife put down her coffee cup and smiled, "Yes, I doubt I'll run into anyone in Bogotá, Colombia who went to Ensley High School in Birmingham, Alabama."
It is amazing how many ways our lives are intertwined with the lives of other people. We graduate from the same school, discover we have friends in common, work in the same field, have the same unique hobby, find out we once lived in the same neighborhood.If we are Christians, we share a common faith that intertwines our lives. Our mutual relationship with Jesus should be a powerful force for connection and unity.
Unfortunately, we currently seem more focused on what separates us than on what unites us. God's family includes people from different countries, ethnic backgrounds, political parties, denominations, cultural views, languages, and faith traditions. Despite these differences, we are blessed with the gift of belonging to each other because we belong to Jesus. We sure don't act like it sometimes. We will never reach our potential for sharing the gospel of grace and love if we spend our time drawing lines in the sand, arguing, and demanding that everyone think exactly like we do on every single issue.
To practice healthy faith, we need to focus on how we are connected to one another. There are so many ways our lives are intertwined with our brothers and sisters in Christ. When we concentrate our energies on the great truths we hold in common, we become an unstoppable force for impacting our communities and our world with unstoppable grace. When we practice intentional unity, we are empowered to encourage and love one another, share the gospel with joy, minister to those in need, feed the hungry, clothe the poor, heal the sick, and welcome the stranger in the name of Jesus who said, "In as much as you have done something for one of the least of these, you have done it for me." Matthew 25:40 NIV
Unfortunately, we currently seem more focused on what separates us than on what unites us. God's family includes people from different countries, ethnic backgrounds, political parties, denominations, cultural views, languages, and faith traditions. Despite these differences, we are blessed with the gift of belonging to each other because we belong to Jesus. We sure don't act like it sometimes. We will never reach our potential for sharing the gospel of grace and love if we spend our time drawing lines in the sand, arguing, and demanding that everyone think exactly like we do on every single issue.
To practice healthy faith, we need to focus on how we are connected to one another. There are so many ways our lives are intertwined with our brothers and sisters in Christ. When we concentrate our energies on the great truths we hold in common, we become an unstoppable force for impacting our communities and our world with unstoppable grace. When we practice intentional unity, we are empowered to encourage and love one another, share the gospel with joy, minister to those in need, feed the hungry, clothe the poor, heal the sick, and welcome the stranger in the name of Jesus who said, "In as much as you have done something for one of the least of these, you have done it for me." Matthew 25:40 NIV
I long for reconciliation among believers that will change light to darkness, hate to love, despair to hope, disunity to connection. We have the power to choose.
You can scream and argue all you want. I opt to look for the things that unite us. I choose to respect wherever you are in your faith journey. I will not require you to be in the same place on the path as me. I will not focus on divisive ploys. I will not belittle. I will not judge or condemn. Instead, I will focus on all the ways we are connected. We are united by the grace of Jesus, by the unconditional love of the Father, and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We may not have gone to the same high school (although it wouldn’t surprise me a bit to find out you graduated from Ensley), but if we belong to God, we belong to each other. And that is more than enough to propel me toward the kind of unity that helps me live a faith of hope and joy.
You can scream and argue all you want. I opt to look for the things that unite us. I choose to respect wherever you are in your faith journey. I will not require you to be in the same place on the path as me. I will not focus on divisive ploys. I will not belittle. I will not judge or condemn. Instead, I will focus on all the ways we are connected. We are united by the grace of Jesus, by the unconditional love of the Father, and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We may not have gone to the same high school (although it wouldn’t surprise me a bit to find out you graduated from Ensley), but if we belong to God, we belong to each other. And that is more than enough to propel me toward the kind of unity that helps me live a faith of hope and joy.
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