Philippians 2:2 Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
I can hear your thoughts now. But Pastor, you don’t know that one. He’s so messed up. She seems to defy me at every turn. Talk about a flawed human being! Oh, but aren’t we all!
Pastor John Ortberg says, “When we enter relationships with the illusion that people are normal, we resist the truth that they are not. We enter an endless attempt to fix them, control them, or pretend that they are what they are not. One of the great marks of maturity is to accept the fact that everybody comes ‘as is.’”
What’s truly amazing is that Jesus prays that all of us flawed, imperfect people become one. How can we be one? By remembering that God loves that other person just as much as He loves me. By acknowledging that the Holy Spirit is living in him just like He is living in me. By knowing that we are all being held in God’s hand.
We have a shared identity in Christ. We have the same mission to share Him with others. We are called to work together to build the kingdom of God. We don’t do it for that other person. And we don’t do it for ourselves. We keep our eyes on Jesus, and we do it for Him.
Let’s live our lives knowing that we are one with Jesus and one with the Father, and let us walk in unity with each other. After all, the way others know that we are followers of Jesus is by our love for one another.
I can hear your thoughts now. But Pastor, you don’t know that one. He’s so messed up. She seems to defy me at every turn. Talk about a flawed human being! Oh, but aren’t we all!
Pastor John Ortberg says, “When we enter relationships with the illusion that people are normal, we resist the truth that they are not. We enter an endless attempt to fix them, control them, or pretend that they are what they are not. One of the great marks of maturity is to accept the fact that everybody comes ‘as is.’”
What’s truly amazing is that Jesus prays that all of us flawed, imperfect people become one. How can we be one? By remembering that God loves that other person just as much as He loves me. By acknowledging that the Holy Spirit is living in him just like He is living in me. By knowing that we are all being held in God’s hand.
We have a shared identity in Christ. We have the same mission to share Him with others. We are called to work together to build the kingdom of God. We don’t do it for that other person. And we don’t do it for ourselves. We keep our eyes on Jesus, and we do it for Him.
Let’s live our lives knowing that we are one with Jesus and one with the Father, and let us walk in unity with each other. After all, the way others know that we are followers of Jesus is by our love for one another.