God's Colorful Kingdom | James 2
God's Colorful Kingdom | James 2
Welcome to Real Life. What color is your favorite?
I'm asking you not to be color blind,
but to be color brave.
-Mellody Hobson
I love green. But if the sky, clouds, and everything was green, I’d soon tire of it. Wouldn’t you? Green's beauty is best appreciated in contrast with other colors.
What if every person looked exactly alike? Boring! Instead, God created us in a variety of sizes, shapes, and shades. We are male and female, tall and short, rich and poor. We speak six thousand languages.[1] We worship in silent meditation and shouts of “Hallelujah!” We are athletes, engineers, mothers, soldiers, and artisans. This is the colorful world God created.
“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth,”[2] we pray in the Lord’s Prayer. When we pray this, let’s be mindful of the wonderful diversity inherent in God’s kingdom, his family. In some families, siblings resemble each other so closely it's easy to see they're related. But in other families, siblings differ so vastly in appearance and personality we’re surprised they were born of the same parents. Each one of us is a daughter or son of our Father in heaven. He created each of us uniquely. Yet, we all bear our Father's image. And he loves us equally–every size, shape, and shade.
Our Father wants us to love equally, too. “Show no partiality,”[3] he tells us in the book of James. It’s easier said than done. We tend to feel more comfortable with those who look and act like us. Often we show partiality, avoiding and excluding those who are different, without realizing it. Yet, it is through relationships with those who look, think, and act differently that our knowledge and understanding grows, our hearts and minds expand, our world transforms from green to a rainbow of color!
Because we're drawn to those like us, let's be intentional about embracing those who are different. Prayerfully consider. Who am I excluding? Expanding our vision can be as simple as opening our eyes in our neighborhoods, to extended family, on the job, or at church. Sometimes taking a class, volunteering in another community, or embarking on a mission trip provides opportunities to build cross-cultural relationships.
We’ll spend eternity together in God’s colorful kingdom. When we celebrate diversity today, our hearts reflect our Father's heart. Our prayer is answered. His kingdom will come and his will is done on earth as in heaven. Green is a beautiful color. But equally beautiful are chestnut, violet, scarlet, sky blue, wisteria, melon, peach, cerulean, apricot, gray, indigo…
After this I looked, and behold,
a great multitude that no one could number,
from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages,
standing before the throne and before the Lamb,
clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
and crying out with a loud voice,
“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Revelation 7:9-10 ESV
Popular posts from this blog
A Story of Grace | Forgiving the Other Woman
Rita, Mark and son Welcome to Real Life . Mark and Rita fell in love, married, and had two children. Then, Mark met Beth. They ended up having an affair. Mark left his family and married Beth. Eight months later, Mark had a life-altering stroke. This is Beth and Rita’s story of grace. Beth I made a decision to accept Jesus as my Savior when I was a young teenager. However, I didn’t really know what that meant. I didn’t understand salvation or grace. I knew God, but kept my distance from him. I felt like I was too far gone. I wasn’t worthy of his forgiveness. When I met Mark, I was rebounding from a long, unhealthy relationship. Ironically, what drew me to him was the way he interacted with his family. Mark was and is a patient, loving father. I saw the special relationship he had with his children. As we began the affair, I was racked with guilt. I consoled myself with the thought that he was the one sinning, not me. He was the married one. I was single. Beth and
Ministry Spotlight: Michelle Virnelson, Love INC
Welcome to Real Life . In today's Ministry Spotlight, join my conversation with . . . Michelle Virnelson Love INC (in the Name of Christ) Cuyahoga County, Ohio Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor. Deuteronomy 15:10-11 NLT Michelle, tell us about your position at Love in the Name of Christ. I’m the Clearing House Coordinator as we partner with local churches to help people in crisis. Every person who calls Love INC for help eventually goes through me. We take their information and then I match them with resources to meet their need. 2019 Update: Michelle is now Executive Director of Love INC Cuyahoga County. How do people in crisis find Love INC? They are often referred to us by their church, or an agency like United Way or Catholic Charities, and sometimes word of mouth. Te
Be Strong and Courageous! | Joshua 1
Welcome to Real Life. Do you need courage today? Grace Church women feigning anxiety during a tornado alert. On the morning I began to read the book of Joshua , I woke up feeling anxious. I have suffered through a few bouts of anxiety/depression in my adult life. Lately, I’m battling it again. In the words of Dr. Timothy Keller, “I’m addicted to a high level of productivity.” I pile on projects and responsibilities until I overload. Then, I feel overwhelmed, anxious, can't sleep, etc. I've learned to view these symptoms as God’s check in my spirit: It’s time to back off and chill out, Peg. As I read God’s encouragement to Joshua, I knew his words were for me as well: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9 NIV). Joshua was justifiably anxious. Moses, the awesome prophet—who stood up to Pharaoh, called plagues down on Egypt, and led Israel out o
