Unity

Unity. 

This word has been convicting me this month. There is SO much dividing us, pulling us away from each other, away from our mission, away from God. What would life look like if we shifted focus from fighting for our beliefs and rights and focused on fighting FOR those God has placed in our kingdom? I'm not saying to become a door mat or give up our beliefs (believe me, enneagram 8 here... I like to fight for what I believe in), but I am saying that we can stop defining those around us by the labels we have given them and simply seek to understand their heart. 

Ask questions, listen, and see each person through the lens of knowing that just like you, they have a life and stories that have shaped how they see the world. Often those stories hold pain, fear, and hurt. Doesn't yours? I know mine does. If THIS is how Christians responded in conflicting situations, seeking to UNDERSTAND first and be RIGHT later, I don't think the world would know what to do. 

Philippians 2:3-5 says it beautifully 3 Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 

THIS is the Jesus we follow. The one who is radically counter cultural. The one who radically fights for unity, love, and the individual hearts that he sees. 

Here are a couple questions I've been asking myself in some heated situations: 

1. Why does this make me so angry? I can easily throw justice in as an excuse; while that is often true, the anger typically comes from a deeper wound within myself. 

2. Why does this make THEM so angry? Maybe I actually stop and try to ask questions that get to the heart of their emotion. 

3. If Jesus was me, how would he respond right now? I'm not Jesus, but if I stop and ask him how to respond, he shows up and the result is often more compassion than I could have on my own. 

This could be a step back towards each other, our mission as Christians, and God. Back to unity. If that isn't the dangerous middle, I don't know what is. 

 Who is with me?