• We Are More (A Call For Unity)

    By: Kristen L. McNulty



    Something troubling is rising within our midst. In communities, schools, workplaces, even in the church. While we like to call ourselves a very tolerant people, the divisions that still exist among us are evident. Just take five minutes and read through some of the status updates on trending hashtags. The whole us versus them is out there and it's something we all need to be aware of, and fight against, especially us believers. Because as anyone has read the Bible from cover to cover can see, we were all created in the image of God and when God looks at us, He see's His fingerprints. He doesn't look at us through human labels, rather He looks at us with His love.

    Jesus teaches us that in God's eyes,

    We are more than the cars we drive.

    We are more than the neighborhoods we live in.

    We are more than the kind of shoes we wear.

    We are more than the kind of job we hold.

    We are more than the family we were born into.

    And we are more than the party we're voting for the next election.

    While it can be easy to see the differences in others, the truth is we have far more in common with each other than the things we let separate us. No matter the bumper sticker on our car, the brand of clothes we wear, or what church we do or don't find ourselves in on a Sunday, or even who we're voting for in the next election; we have all been created by the same Loving Father, our God, who loves each one of us dearly and created us each uniquely. And as believers we have no business classifying anyone He has created into a category. No, even if we don't look like someone else, act like them or even agree with them, we are all called to love them as our brother or sister. Galatians 3:26 teaches us,

    "For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 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 Chris Jesus." (Galatians 3:26)


    We hear it again in Colossians,

    "In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us." (Colossians 3:11)


    If God sees us as one in Him, then don't you think it's time we started acting like it? So whether that means crossing the aisle at church to reach out to someone you've too often avoided or caring more about loving someone than you do proving your opinions are right or changing the flavor of the kind of people you spend time with, it's time that we as the church lived out the love and compassion of Christ. Closing with that very thought from Christ Himself, as recorded in John 13,

    "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." (John 13:34-35)


    Reprint rights available on request. Email the author at kristenmcnulty@hotmail.com.

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