We Are The Same
If you put any two humans side by side, you will see more commonalities than differences. Literally, ANY two humans. What makes up a human is a common equation of cells, organs, hair, limbs, bones, teeth, a brain, etc. God made us in his image. He used the same blueprint and then added a little sprinkle of uniqueness to each of us.
My late, long-time friend, Jack Roche, officiated our wedding and always kept me in check with his little truth bombs. One of my favorites was, “We all suffer from an acute case of uniqueness.”
Jack always reminded me that because of our imperfect human nature and all our commonality, we fiercely seek out our individuality, our uniqueness, or the thing that makes us stand out. In recent history, we have worked so hard to find our uniqueness, that we have lost sense of our commonalities. When we see each other, we instantly notice how we differ; be it our looks, our beliefs, our lifestyle, our opinions, or our upbringing. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be serving us well as a society, and particularly not as followers of Christ.
Paul writes in Philippians 2:1-2
Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, being of one accord, of one mind.
From prison, Paul is using strong language to encourage the people of Philippi as they continue his work to build and grow the church. He is saying to them, if you believe in Jesus Christ, if you are true followers, if you believe he died for your salvation, then you must find your common ground. Think about that for a moment. If Christ is real (spoiler alert: He is.) then we must be of one mind.
This truth still stands today, and couldn’t be more relevant. What if every time we felt out of place in a crowd, we sought to find our common ground? What if every time we felt alone and isolated, we worked to be of one accord? What if every time we saw someone who looked, acted, or lived differently than ourselves, we took a moment to discover our like-mindedness.
It is not a question of whether we can do this, it is a necessity that we do this. We must do this in the name of humanity, in the name of decency, and in the name of Christ Jesus.
As believers, let’s begin to look at one another through a lens of our commonalities. Let’s use our commonalities for fellowship and our uniqueness to fulfill our calling. Let’s strive to approach each other with a goal of being like-minded, of one accord, of one mind. And then, like Paul, let’s find joy in our commonalities. That is exactly what Paul was asking the Philippians to do, and I believe that is what God is calling each of us to do.
God, thank you. Thank you for making each of us in your image and for making each of us so similar. Help us find joy in our similarities. Help us find fellowship in our commonalities and fulfill our calling through our uniqueness. Change our hearts to see each other through your eyes, so that we can heal and mend the great divide that we are struggling with in this world. Thank you for sending your son, Jesus Christ, to earth to deliver your word to us through his life and death.