I’m With Them

The other day I read a fascinating editorial from the USA today about the fact that people as a whole fear, “the other.”  The other is unfamiliar actions, places, people, traditions, or culture.  The other is just something that we don’t know a lot about, but causes great fear and uncertainty.  For example the Florida pastor who planned a Quran burning called that book, the devil.  When interviewed, a reporter asked have you ever read the book, no, do you know anything about it, well yeah, it’s the devil.  I don’t mention this man to point out that this man decided something he was completely unfamiliar with was pure evil.

As we look around our church, and think about being open to all people, we are a place that is filled with people of all sorts.  We have democrats and republicans, we have Bears fans and Packers fans, we have people who represent a variety of groups and lifestyles.  And if we are not careful, we can start to look at one another as “the other.”  The other view of this or that, the other take on this issue or that, and it can divide us.  It says in Ephesians 4:2-3, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:2-3, TNIV)  Our job and mandate is to maintain the unity of the body, to love each other, to be one unified body of Christ.  Yet this mandate does not mean that we have to remove everyone that doesn’t just like us from our church.  Instead this passage asks that we carry ourselves in such a way that our actions lead to unity within the body.

In Matthew 5:23-24 Jesus says, “Therefore, if you are offering your gift…and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift…First go and be reconciled to that person; then come and offer your gift. Throughout the gospels Jesus direction of how to handle, “the other” is simply and straight forward, go to them.  Go talk directly with them, so that you can listen to one another, and understand one another.  You may still disagree with one another, but will gain a greater respect and understanding for others.  This way we can stand together, understand and appreciating one another’s perspectives and differences and the Body of Christ.

When you have issue go directly to those you have issue with, you can learn to agree to disagree, but we have a call to try and get to know “the other.”  This does not mean we are all in complete agreement about everything, but instead that we are in agreement over the one most important thing, Jesus.  Those although we may vote for candidates, cheer for teams, and listen to music differently; we are unified as believers in Jesus.  Although we might have different opinions about a number of things, we can stand alongside one another and say, I’m with them, as we share in the ministry God calls us to do.

A Little Help Here

Monday morning as I grabbed the paper, I checked out the headlines as I walked back to the house.  The headline on the front page read, “The Recession is over!!”  I would guess that as people across the country read this, few felt their stress lessen, or their worries about our current climate diminish.  I have been reflecting on stress and worry and biblically what we are told about it, and how to handle it.

Jesus says this about worry, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life… Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they…Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”(Matthew 6:25-26, 34 ESV)  We read about worry in 1 Peter, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7, TNIV)  Yet I would guess often our prayers sound more like this, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24, TNIV)  So now what?  We live lives that will always have reasons that could cause us stress and worry.  We are faced with finances, jobs, family, friends, church, and other organizations that ask for our time and resources.  Yet we read scriptures verses that say, don’t worry, because God will provide, God will be there for you.

Before we go any further we have to remember one important thing, we are not meant to bear these burdens alone.  Throughout scripture we read about the importance of community.  We read in Ecclesiastes that, “Two are better than one,“ (Ecclesiastes 4:9, TNIV), Galatians tells us that we are to bear one another’s burdens so that we fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2)  We see that we are not made to handle those burdens alone, that instead God made us to handle it together, in community.  This is part of what the Body of Christ does, bear one another’s burdens, care for each other, and walk with each other through periods of life, to share life together.

So as we walk through life remember, we are not meant to do it alone.  Each of us will echo the prayer from Luke, help my unbelief, perhaps more than we would like to admit.  But it is in those times we can turn to one another for support.  We can find a small group, or accountability partner, or another form of support through Christians we interact with.  Stress and worry will always creep into our lives, but we have around us a community of believers to support us in those times of stress, to pray for each other, to encourage one another, and to walk with each other.

Direction

As I walked into the office Tuesday morning and turned my calendar I realized that this week I will have officially been at Trinity for one year.  One year has gone by fast, and as I sat thinking about the last year, I reflected upon the process of receiving the call to come to Trinity.  I thought about why I believed that Trinity was a fit for me and Amy, but also why the church thought that I would be a fit to be the next pastor here.  As I reflected on the call and the reasons that I felt called and was called to this place, I wondered to myself, am I living into that?  Am I fulfilling the call I was given by God to come to Trinity?  I was called here with a purpose, and I took sometime this week to reflect on that call on my life.

I am sure as many of you read this; you could understand the importance of a call giving direction and guidance to the life of someone in ministry.  God’s call gives direction in ministry about where to go, what do to, and how to do it.  But for many, a call giving direction and meaning to their life and work is simply something that pastors and others who work in ministry have.  Yet we hear these words from 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”  God’s call does not just extend to pastors, or those working in ministry, but to all his church both corporately and individually.

Take some time to prayerfully consider your call and role in your life and here at Trinity, but also in your family, workplace, and with friends.  God has gifted and called each of us with a purpose, so are we living into that call?  God doesn’t call his people to sit on the sidelines, to but to have a purpose, a role, a use for their gifts and skills.  To pray, to preach, to cook, to dance, to support, to fold bulletins, and more.  Are we living into the call that God has placed on our lives?  Some people struggle with the idea they are called, and believe that God has left the heavy lifting for someone more qualified; more educated, more worthy, more something.  Yet scripture tells us that we are all are called to God’s service, we all have gifts, talents, and life experience to build up the body of Christ, and to help God’s people to grow and be fed.

Are we fulfilling the call that God has placed on our lives?  How we best encourage and empower one another to fulfill the call that God has given to each of us?  Because, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” (1 Corinthians 12:26, TNIV