It was Christ who willingly went to the cross, and it was our sins that took him there
Our sins led God to the cross. All of our sins, not just one persons or a group of people. We are all in it together, the cross was raised for all of us, not just for some, for all. This means the truth the cross represents is for all and not some. And the truth of the Cross is above all our petty differences and our divisions. The churches need to start looking at the cross for the unity it represents. Yes, there are a lot of churches and yes the doctrine and beliefs vary but that is no excuse to have animosity against one another. Doctrines change but the Cross stands for everyone and therefore Unity stands for everyone. If we all believe in the cross, how can anything other than love and unity come out of us? If we can’t see the love and respect in our attitude towards others, you got this all wrong and let this season be the change.
There was once a man in San Francisco walking along the Golden Gate Bridge, and he saw a second man about to jump over the edge. He stopped him and said, “Surely it can’t be that bad. You know God loves you.” The man about to jump got a tear in his eye. He said, “Are you a Christian or a Jew or a Hindu?” The fellow said, “I’m a Christian.”
“Me, too. Are you Protestant or Catholic?”
“I’m Protestant.”
“I am, too. What franchise?”
“I’m Baptist.”
“So am I. Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?”
“Northern Baptist.”
“That’s a miracle! I am, too. Are you Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?”
“Northern Conservative Baptist.”
“Me, too. Are you Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist or Northern Conservative Reformed Baptist?”
“I’m Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist, Karl Ripley.”
“Me, too. Are you Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes region or Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Eastern region?”
“I’m Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes region.”
“So am I. Are you Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes region council of 1897 or Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes region council of 1912?”
“I’m Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes region council of 1912.”
And the guy said, “Die, heretic,” and threw him over the bridge.
The fact that the church speaks different languages, sings different kinds of music, and engages in different cultural habits tells us that the unity of the church is never intended to be uniformity, it’s unity. The beauty of the church is that it exists across many cultures and language groups, and consists of diverse offices and diverse gifts.
Does the Cross bring out unity in you when you look at your fellow believers?