Celebrate our Commonalities
“Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.” (1 Corinthians 1:10)
One of my pet peeves is seeing one believer criticizing or judging another church. They loosely throw statements around like how this pastor is a false teacher or how his ministry is a partnership with the devil. They mock churches that grow exponentially and accuse them of selling prosperity as their strategy for growth. They love to compare their own church with others.
This is exactly what the enemy wants to happen. He uses division as a tool to derail believers from their true purpose which is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and bring more people into his Kingdom.
So, when I hear another brother or sister in Christ is being judge-y towards another church, I would often ask if they have visited that church and tested the spirit? (1 John 4:1-2). Have they personally known or met the pastor? Is their information accurate and first hand? Will this information bring people closer to Christ? If the answer is No, then this information is a waste of Kingdom time.
Instead of comparing or passing judgment over another church, why not celebrate what we have in common? The following are some things we can lovingly agree on: We have the same triune God. He is our God the Father, God the Son – Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit. We belong to the same body. We have the same faith. We have one baptism. We have the same hope for our calling. We were all paid with the same blood of Jesus Christ. We are led by the Holy Spirit. We are all citizens of heaven. If we can only see that we are one, we are made complete in Christ.
PRAYER
We want to celebrate you O God by uniting in our faith. Let
harmony and love overshadow our differences and allow us
to see each other as real brothers and sisters in Christ.
APPLICATION
Think of the good things that all our churches and denominations have in common and celebrate that.