Centered on God

I beg you - I, a prisoner here in jail for serving the Lord - to live and actin a way worthy of those who have been chosen for such wonderful blessings as these. Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. Try always to be led along together by the Holy Spirit, and so be at peace with one another.

We are all parts of one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future. For us there is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and we all have the same God and Father who is over us all and in us all, and living through every part of us. Ephesians 4:1-6 (TLB)

Paul Grafton, from Pennsylvania, has a friend who is his neighbor, a member of the church Paul attends, and a fellow follower of Christ. They get together about once a week to talk and enjoy each other's company. One major difference between them is that they each belong to a different political party. They have agreed to put their politics aside and keep their conversation centered on other matters. But this is not easy to do. One of them lets something slip, the other retorts, and they have a disagreement.

These discussions become self-defeating exercises since they both want the same things for our country. Because of their different life experiences and different ways of thinking, they have different opinions on which party offers the best solutions. They cannot prove which of them is correct and it becomes one opinion against another.

But they agree that they both belong to the kingdom of God. God requires our accepting one another in love, making "every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." They have agreed not to let lesser concerns come between them but to keep their beliefs, hearts, and minds centered on serving God.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to show people how much you and your kingdom mean to us by sharing the joy we receive from serving you, in Jesus' name. Amen.