At the church I attend Pastor has been emphasising on this year being year of letting God's Kingdom come as we focus on His is the Kingdom, the power and the glory!
So, I meditated on this and began to think how much of God's Kingdom do I really know? In every Kingdom there is someone who has dominon and there are usually rules to follow or some boundaries in place. For example in England it is illegal drive without a seatbelt, however in other places this may be permitted. You always hear in the news of people who go to other countries and do not always know the laws of the land as they contrast greatly to what they used to and they end up breaking those rules unaware and find themselves in serious trouble! Every Kingdom has a way of doing things. In God's Kingdom there is a way of doing things and just to look at one: UNITY.
Especially this year I really do think this is important - reading in Romans 14 (Romans 14:20) In verse 20, Paul says that we shouldnt undo the work of God. In this chapter he is speaking a lot about unity andhow our beliefs or more our opinions on what we can or cant eat shouldn't affect our relationships with one another. After reading verse 20, I thought, what is the work of God? So I went back to the previous verse....we should pursue harmony with one another...so is not God's work unity. Did Jesus not come for us to be one?!
We so easily forget the power of unity and believe in the power of one, opposed to the power of One. I know that one person can make a significant difference but sometimes we think only one can make the difference and forget the One.
Abraham. We know him from the Bible. We especially know him if we used to sing (8) Father Abraham had many sons (8) ... Now you're singing the song :p... But stay with me :) i LOVE the story of Abraham and Lot and the last time i read it, I saw something I had missed before. Abraham had been told by God to go to the land that He will show him andhad been given a promise by God, that He would bless him and make him a great nation. What an awesome promise! So Abraham journeyed with his wife and nephew, Lot, and their flocks and herds. We hear in Genesis 13 that Abraham was rich and Lot also had his flocks and herds, so where they dwelt at the time was not big enough for them. Soon argument erupted between Abrahams herdsmen and Lots herdsmen! It was not working out. Now what would your response have been. If you were Abraham would you tell Lot that God promised you a land so you're staying there?! If you were Lot would you tell Abraham that Gods given him a land so the right to stay is yours?! Abrahams response was significant to me, 'Are we not brothers?' Wow! If we approached many of our conflicts like this, would we see the power of One. What was more important to Abraham in this instance? What do we see as more important? Our dreams coming to pass or that we are One?
Romans 16:16 reads 'Greet one another with a holy kiss'. Whoa whoa whoa! Some of you are screaming. I know in a lot of conversations this scripture has caused many different reactions but when i thought about it, i personally think there can only be one response. If we think about culture, i'm guessing (forgive me if i am wrong) that it was the way they would greet one another in that time. A kiss is a way of showing affection- showing you care for that person. Now every culture is different. This form of greeting may offend some, but a form of greeting would still stand in that culture that shows some form of affection. A gladness in seeing someone. I think Paul was reiterating the importance of us holding one another in high esteem, how see one another and how we approach one another. The power of One.
The question is like asking how do we show love to one another? Do we even see it as important? Are we not brothers?
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