Let me first say I am not writing this to pick a side in the diversity in our world going on right now, but rather to present a new one. It seems for so long, our world has had the issue of coming together, and forgetting the things that set us apart.
But guess what? Christians have figured it out, and it's not by what we have done, but by what Christ did.
If the events in our country over the past few years have taught us anything, it's that things are not getting any better. The riots in Baltimore, the shooting in Orlando, the fights between citizens and police, the list goes on and on. Our choices for the upcoming presidential election leave us wondering, "How did we get here?" It seems there has to be something we are doing wrong, right? So what do we have to do to fix this issue? What is the solution to the diversity, turmoil and preventing a figurative and literal wall being wedged between us and the world?
Well, number one, it's not this article. It's not some social media post or a TV commercial. It's not an athlete representing a cause that ignites a fire in a community. All of these things may be "good," but if they were really "good enough," the problems would be fixed, right?
So what is the solution? What can we do, if anything? Well, the reality is we can't, and while this is difficult to accept, it is the truth. There is a division across our world and it's been there since the dawn of man. Until one Man, who was unlike any other who walked this earth, changed history forever.
His name was Jesus Christ.
The Creator of the universe, incarnate in the flesh, came down and willingly lived amongst us. Think about that. God willingly came down to live in His wonderful creation He designed in Genesis 1 and 2, but then was destroyed by us humans in Genesis 3. However, in Genesis 3, God promises there will be someone who redeems the earth, and that was Jesus.
The interesting notion behind Jesus living in this world is one that is often overlooked. He was God, and we were man. What greater divide could there ever be? He had to leave His Kingdom, come down and experience every struggle that we face (Hebrews 4:14-16).
Yet, the work Jesus finished on the cross brought together everyone who believes in the greatest truth there could ever be. That the same God, who watched His creation be destroyed by the one creation He made in His own image, came down and willingly lived amongst us, suffered with us, cried with us, tolerated us and ultimately died for us. He paid the penalty that we deserve.
But through the blood of Christ, we are brought together by His Spirit in us. It's by what He did, not by what we have done or will do, but simply by what Jesus did on the cross. It unites us in a way that can never be broken, because it is an eternal bond. Our ability to unite only begins on this earth, and the "real party" begins in the afterlife.
So guess what? No matter what anyone does to us or says to us, we can never be broken apart because what binds us is the work of God, not by man.
When I sit back at an event at my church, I see different races, genders, ages, etc, and yet we are all united in something that is not bound to this earth, and therefore is not weak enough to be broken by anything in this world.
As Christians, we need to begin to build a platform for ourselves to share this great truth, but it won't come easy. It will cost us a lot and it may even cost us our lives. But if we are to truly to act like Christ and be a follower of Him, we need to remember giving up our lives could result in more than we could ever hope to do on this earth. Because our God lives, and to live is Christ and to die is gain, and over 2,000 years ago, Jesus cleansed my crimson stain.
Through the blood of Christ we are United, and we stand together not by what we do, but by what Christ did.
