How are you? How is your week going?
Let me tell you a little bit about my marriage. My wife and I agree on a lot of things. We agree on the love for food. We agree on the lack of desire to go on hiking trips. We agree on our theology.
But believe it or not, we also disagree a lot. We disagree on small details of our lives, our marriage, and our family.
Although we may have these disagreements, we are not divided. At least we shouldn’t be divided. We are still one flesh and one family.
This past Sunday, we were reminded to be united as a church in Christ. Paul calls us, not to uniformity, but to unity. We can disagree (on the minors) without being divided.
However, we see that divisions occur when there is selfish pride. It’s not about truth and love, but it’s about self-validation and glory. It’s about being superior to your neighbor.
However, Paul calls us to die to our selfishness and pride. He calls us to not seek self-validation but self-sacrifice. He calls us to not find our worth and security in the things of this world but in Christ alone. He calls us to serve one another instead of be superior over one another.
How is this possible? It’s through the Son who has done all of this for us. He is the One who gave of himself instead steal from others. He is the One who did not seek to be self-validated but instead sacrificed himself. He is the One who served instead of trying to be superior over us.
Through the cross, He strips away our pride, and He replaces it with Himself. His love, grace, and mercy for us are more than enough. He becomes the place of our hope and confidence; our worth and security. And because He was torn apart on the cross, we can be now united in Him.
New Life, I pray that we may place our confidence and hope in Christ alone. I pray that the Lord may work within and through us so that He may unite us in Him.
Take some time to meditate on and enjoy the cross of Jesus Christ. Be found in His love and mercy. And may that give you the power to love other and be united in Him.
See you on Sunday for Lord’s Day Worship. Pray for yourselves, for our worship, and for our ministry.
In Christ,
Pastor Tim
Pastor Tim
Photo Credit: http://www.unityofgardenpark.org/