General Stuff

The greatest divide

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There are many things that divide us.

Coke or Pepsi.
Stuffing or Dressing.
Hymns or Choruses.
Hot dogs or Hamburgers.
Gas or Electric.
Elephant or Donkey.

Division causes distance between sides, and that means that the greater the distance, the more space there is for grace.

Space for grace. It’s got a nice little ring to it, right? It’s an easy way to remember what God has called His body to do when we see gaps. Instead of highlighting the differences in an attempt to further the divide (I mean, why do the devil’s job for him??), the Church is called to highlight the grace that allows distinctions in a unified family.

Said another way, the world will always throw gas on the fires of division because the enemy in this world wants to keep us apart. Our mission? Throw water on these fires and then slather love and grace all over the burns (Colossians 3:13-14).

One could ask why the church has been so seemingly ineffective at doing the latter? The answer is painfully obvious: we can’t give the world what we don’t actually have. A divided church has nothing to offer a divided culture.

[Tweet “God isn’t as concerned about the division in our country as much as He’s concerned about the division in the church.”]

God loves people, and He hates things that hurt people. In fact, the whole reason Jesus came was to rescue people. But I’m not certain that God is as concerned about the division in our country as much as He’s concerned about the division in the church. Why? Because the people receiving His message hinges on a unified church.

I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (‭‭John‬ ‭17:23‬ ‭NIV, emphasis mine)

When will the world know how much God loves them? Not when we preach the right way or sing the right songs or only drink Coke. Nope, it’ll be when we — the Church — live out the unity that Jesus prayed about. The greatest divide isn’t the one between CNN and Fox News, or the one between one skin color and another. The greatest divide is between God’s kids fighting in the back seat of the car with a bumper sticker proclaiming how united we are while other people in other cars are watching.

Next time you have a disagreement with a believer, instead of throwing jabs, try throwing some water. Instead of filling the space with a post, fill that space with grace.

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July 15, 2021by Paul Jenkins
Written by Paul Jenkins
Paul Jenkins is lead pastor of The Gathering, a community church located in beautiful downtown Albemarle, North Carolina. He's the author of God is My Air Traffic Controller and My Name's Not Lou. Paul is passionate about his wife, his 3 children, running, reading, coaching, leading people who are following Jesus, Swedish Fish and the Carolina Panthers.