March 17, 2009 - God Bless You as You Follow After Jesus

With everything else going on in our nation and the world, we are in a time when we have the opportunity to come together as the Church of Jesus Christ. We see such fragmentation in our world system. Whether you are buying toner for a printer, spark plugs for a car, or applying for a degree at several colleges or universities - everything seems to be unique and different. While celebrating our diversity is the cry of our day, it just seems life could be simpler if the printer cartridge for every printer was the same, if every car could use the same spark plugs, or if all colleges and universities were required to have the same prerequisites and classes when pursuing a degree.

Yet here we are, wanting to be able to claim that "ours" is better. If we make our toner cartridge unique then we are able to charge what we want and you have to buy it because it's the only one that fits into "our" printer. Each car needs its own particular spark plugs so again, you have to buy "ours" instead of theirs. Even colleges and universities can design their classes so if the description in one school's catalog doesn't exactly match "our" catalog's class description - we can charge you more money to be taught pretty much the same class except with our idiosyncrasies that make it "unique," "more valuable," or even "better.” 

Does it seem the fragmentation of the Church has caused many believers to think the same way about the local congregations within a City or community? It can go so far as to cause fellow believers to think that they are not to associate with other believers because their "doctrine," their "direction," or their "denomination" is different.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying everyone has to think the same, believe the same, or be called by God to accomplish the exact same mission in the exact same way. The point I'm trying to make is that we need to learn to honor each other - even when our doctrine, direction, or denomination differ. It's time we come together because of Jesus; so much more could get done to advance God's Kingdom.

If it's going to happen, it will need to be demonstrated by the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Yes, every believer in Jesus Christ needs to live this out, yet so many people are waiting for "leaders" to lead in this way, so what say we direct some of our prayers toward the unifying of "leaders" who will lead others into the same oneness that our Lord called for in His prayer to Father God the night before He was crucified in John 17? How our Lord Jesus must long for a united body that wants Him to reign and rule over His Church instead of a group of people fragmented by so many intellectual, spiritual and personal issues. I've learned to bless whomever the Lord brings my way. Blessing even those who are headed in another direction spiritually with a simple statement, "God bless you as you follow after Jesus." Now that's a safe and honoring blessing. What say you, that blessing is a simple starting place even for those we disagree with in the body of Jesus Christ. “Hey - God bless you today as you follow after Jesus!"

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