Coming Together

I haven't slept a whole lot this week. Not in a bad way, there's just been a lot going on the last month, and there are still things going on. I'll lose sleep for something I believe in that I'm not worried about. But I was tired last night, so I laid down and slept for 6 straight hours. This might not seem like much to some, but for me, it's excellent.

I woke up at 4:00am like usual, feeling pretty good. Then I did what I usually do. I prayed, meditated, got a coffee cup, put on the headphones, and turned on some music. Unless there is an emergency, this time is mine. It allows me to center myself, focus on what is coming in the day, make a plan for the day, and have a bit of peace before the challenges of the day come. Today was a little different.

During my time of prayer and meditation, I kept having the same question come to me. This doesn't usually happen. Prayer and meditation are some of the only times I can be in silence and be okay with it.

But the question that kept permeating this normally peaceful time was, "Why are we all separated? Where is the unification?"

If you've read my posts, you know my faith is my foundation. This is fair warning that this post will likely lean heavily on that.

We're at over 200,000 subscribers to this blog that has simply grown through word of mouth. It still shocks me, but I thank you for that because as this question echoed through my mind this morning and through the day, as I write these words tonight, you have proven to me that unification is still possible.

There are many interpretations of things that are involved with the faith I hold dear, especially today. But one thing I will argue till the day I die is that Jesus came to this world to unify us, to love us, to share His Father's love for us.

Sadly, there has always been a division of some kind, but in the world today, you see it at every turn.

We're driven more by our own wants and needs than by simply doing what is right.

I was talking to a co-worker towards the end of the day, and I brought this up. In the conversation, I said, "It's like we're divided by our challenges rather than being unified by our purpose."

If I'm honest, I see this issue everywhere. Work, church, personal relationships, society, governments, interactions among strangers, and the list could go on for quite a while.

There seems to be an obsession with pointing out how everyone else has it wrong. But I'm here to tell you that none of us has it all together. None of us has all the answers. Only one man that walked this earth had that, and he died on a cross FOR US.

In John 17:20-23, Jesus said, "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me."

Jesus asked that we believe in Him and that we believe in God. That we come together and understand how much they love us, and maybe just maybe we'd love each other, and in doing so, we share His word.

Romans 8:28 tells us, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, do those who are the called according to His purpose."

When did working together for good become a concept that was foreign to us? I know it's not everyone because there are some darn good people in this world, but man, many don't want to do good.

Romans 12:10 says, "Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another."

Romans 12:10 says, "Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."

When did love become the 4 letter word we're not supposed to say in public? When did love become the exception instead of the rule?

The last verse I'll mention is Philippians 4:8. "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things."

I don't understand how we went from that to where we are now. Instead of seeing the good, we look for the bad, and even worse, how we can use that to our benefit.

It breaks my heart.

Even if you don't share my faith, these are values that we should all be able to agree on.

I'm not going to sit here and say I have the answers because I don't.

I do know some things that help me not allow myself to become trapped in all we are surrounded by today. So, I guess I should share those.

Listen rather than speak. If you do this, you show those with you that you respect and care about them. And I promise you'll learn something. We all need this. We hear our own voices enough, give your vocal cords a rest and try exercising your heart and ears.

Have a conversation. We aren't all going to agree, but we can listen to each other and walk away still respecting each other. We move straight to attacking these days. Quit that. Grab a cup of coffee, a beer, a bottle of water and have a talk. It's okay to not agree, but it's not okay to have malice due to it. Hate should not be in the equation.

Find the best in others. It's usually there. Only on rare occasions have I not been able to find it, and admittedly that was usually my issue. But note I didn't say think or assume the best of others. Do some work and find it. It's worth it, and who knows, you may make a friend.

Be humble, have some humility. In other words, get over yourself. None of us is the end all be all of anything. I'm not saying to not be confident; we should be confident within reason. But there is a fine line between confidence and conceit, and many have jumped clear over that line. Don't let yourself do that.

Lastly, lead with love. I promise you that the team I lead where I work started out thinking I was crazy because I'd end every meeting telling them that I loved them. But if you ask them, I'm sure they'd all tell you they know I mean it.

When we lead with love, we take ourselves out from the focus, and in most instances, we should be the last thing we focus on.

Love each other, support each other, and protect each other.

Okay, my rant is over.

Love you all.