Perfect love. Amazing grace. I can’t help but smile when I think about these traits of God. How can the creator of the universe, the creator of the stars, mountains, and skies look at me and call me “good” and so much more? The answer is the gospel, and I’m thankful for that every day. God looks at every person He creates and calls them a masterpiece. He calls you a masterpiece. That is what I’m choosing to rejoice in today, and I hope you choose to too!
It‘s so easy to look at someone and see how they are different from you. Sometimes we can see it as different in a good way, but a lot of times we see it as a bad kind of different or a wrong kind of different. We put our beliefs and opinions higher than others automatically, and I am just as guilty of this as anyone. Christians have so many opinions, and I agree that it’s important to have strong beliefs centered around the Bible. The catch is no one is going to have the exact same beliefs as you. God made us differently, so the way we think is going to be different. This is clear as seen through the many denominations within the Christian church. This is seen through very serious Christians both active in the Democratic Party and the Republican party. I find this divison sad, because God created us to be unified. Philippians 1:27-28 says, “Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people’s trust in the Message, the good news, not flinching or dodging in the slightest before the opposition. Your courage and unity will show them what they’re up against: defeat for them, victory for you—and both because of God.” This shows the power of unity, and it comes from the greatest power of all, love.
I’m a counselor at a camp this summer, and I asked my middle schoolers if they thought that all tie dyed shirts look the same, hoping to lead them into a conversation of how God made us all different. However one camper took it farther and said that even though they were all different, to her they also looked all very similar, and it reminded her of how we are all similar because of how we are all children of God. What a blessing that we are all similarly connected by each being a masterpiece from God! This makes us powerfully unified through God’s love for each of us! Yes we are different, but God calls each of us good. He perfectly loves each of us. He is amazingly gracious to all of us. What an amazing thing every single Christian can rejoice in!
The simple gospel is, well... simple. 1 John 3:23 puts as:"This is [God's] command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another." Why do we make it so much more complicated? Jesus worked with the apostles, who were all sinners standing in front of perfection. Why can’t we, all sinners standing in front of more sinners, work together to glorify our God? I’m thankful for God’s love and grace in my life, and I’m sure you are too. Let’s rejoice in that together, with our friends and our foes, and with our family and strangers.
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