I love to read the letters of the New Testament, most attributed to Saul/Paul. He continued to grow in his maturity and would often write to these churches about the practical reality of faith. There was the arguing over who had more right to be God’s children, who could have communion, who had the best talents/gifts, who was influenced by which apostle.

And repeatedly Paul simply reminds them of a simple, yet profound truth—we are all one. Not one is more important or powerful; not one is needed more than another; not one holds more love and grace. We are simply one in this journey. And many don’t like that—their ego’s can’t contain space for another.

Even still, Paul prods them to focus on unity rather than division; embracing the uniqueness of culture and talent as gift for each instead of for me; of seeking the high calling of following the way of Christ. And he lays it out—we are seeking the fullness of Christ, though seeing it dimly, so that we might just be the ambassadors of God for this day and age.

As Anne Lamott once quipped, “You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” Let’s make sure we are the people on the way of Christ reflecting God’s audacious love and grace for all!