One of the coolest things 6:8 Ministries is taking a group that most of the time has no construction experience and using it to build a house for a family in desperate need. As you can imagine, with only 3 or 4 days to build a house it doesn't end up looking like the Taj Mahal. In fact, there are usually some crooked boards, bent nails, and smashed thumbs but when you step back and look at it you don't see crooked boards, you see a brand new home. This is exactly how the Church is, none of us are perfect, we all have faults and we don't always line up perfectly; together we form the House of God. The key word is together, so often the Church-I'm using a capital C because the Church isn't a building or denomination it's all the followers of Christ-divides itself over things that should not matter. That is like pulling out a support wall in a building, the whole building collapses.
I have always been aware of the way many churches are divided over racial lines, since when was that Biblical? What would happen if instead of instead of having predominantly black and predominantly white churches if we just had Church? It starts with the leadership of the church, pastors if you don't change your mindset from what will make my congregation happy to what is going to better the Kingdom of God, things will never change. One of the best examples of this is Pastor Michael Catt of Sherwood Baptist Church and Pastor Daniel Simmons of Mount Zion Baptist Church, many years ago they forged a partnership that has grown stronger and closer over the years; did they lose members of their congregation? you betcha, but honestly do you really want members that are that opposed to bettering the community of God, polluting the rest of your congregation? Fellow Christians, it's up to you to help your pastor make this transition, are you willing to welcome a brother/sister in Christ that may look different than you? You shouldn't have any problem with it, especially when you think about how different, how ugly you looked in God's eyes before you were covered in His Son's blood. Another major dividing line, that I have really noticed since being in Costa Rica, is social status. If you saw a homeless man in your church, would your first thought be something like "What is he doing here?" Yet he is exactly who Jesus would have been hanging out with, the beggars, hookers, and thieves. At what point did "the least of these" start living in a gated community? Because, for the most part that is who we spend most of our time on. Yesterday, I was in Tiribi one of the poorest barrios (neighborhood) in Costa Rica and as I saw the joy that the people living there, in a hopeless situation, and it hit me who is poorer and more deprived, the comparatively rich Americans or these Costa Ricans who have absolutely nothing? Honestly, I've never seen the same joy on the faces living in the so called exclusive communities in the United States. It's high time we stopped looking at the color of skin or the thickness of the wallet, took the plank out of our own eye, and brought all of us crooked boards together to form the House of God.
And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
Acts 2:6-11
Oftentimes, what we notice in this passage is that everyone heard the preaching in their language, but what I want you to see is that every part of the known world was represented. This is a true picture of what the Church is supposed to be like, people from every walk of life coming together to bring glory to God.
14For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts,e yet one body.
21The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
1 Corinthians 12:12-25
This is another passage that is no doubt familiar to you. Because we are all created different, we must work together in order to accomplish the will of our Father.
I guess what I've been try to say is, as followers of Christ we need to come to the point where instead of seeing differences big and small, we see each other as our Father sees us, His children.
If you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ please scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find out how to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ.
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