I read the slogan “Doing Life Together” on the website of a local church, and it got me to thinking. No one wants to go through life alone, yet at the same time we all have a unique identity, made up of a combination of our genetics, upbringing, life experience, and relationship with God (or lack thereof). Not one of us is the same.
One of the most amazing things in any community setting is the fact that we can coexist with other human beings at all, given the vast spectrum of individual views on any issue, be it political, religious, personal or otherwise…and yet, for the most part we can set apart our differences and interact with each other in relationship.
So…How do we maintain our own identity, while being part of a larger Christian community? Easy… (to say, harder to do). We assume His identity. By becoming Christians (or Christ’s followers, Christ-like) we emulate who He was, which was all good.
When in doubt, Love. Love your neighbour as yourself, love God above all else.
While many of us share a common stance on the major aspects of being Jesus’ followers, it’s the minor things in life that can generate the highest level of conflict and strife. We eat and drink different things, we see different movies, we dress in different ways, we exercise differently (if we do at all), we drive different cars, go to different churches…you get the picture. We’re different.
So, let’s do life together. Differently, maybe, but together in the love of Jesus, most definitely.
Peace.
Travis
Romans 14:1-23
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2014:1-23&version=NLT
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