Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living©
I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me– just as the Father knows me and I know the Father–and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
(John 10:14-16 (NIV))
Are we truly one flock?
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV))
I know that Jesus has given us the great commission, but do we truly open up to those who are different from us? Are we willing to allow other sheep into our pen? Do we fully embrace those whom Jesus has embraced? Do we truly listen to His voice when it comes to those who are different than us?
Would we welcome a former Muslim into our “pen,” or would we hold this brother or sister in Christ at a distance out of fear of the unknown? We have become creatures of comfort and it is a shame that we are only comfortable around others who are like us. Think about all that we are missing when we do not fully embrace believers who are not like us.
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
(1 Corinthians 12:14-20 (NIV))
No matter how we are told this fact, it is still the same simple fact. We are to be one in Christ. We are to embrace each believer just as Jesus embraces each believer. Have you ever stopped to think that in the eyes of the early Jewish believers, we are the ones who are different. What would have happened to the church if they had not overcome their fear of those who are different? I thank God that they were able to go beyond their comfort zones.
Open up your pen and go beyond your comfort zone.
Copyright 1998 – 2010 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Daily Living Ministries 