A Message to the Christian
“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;” John 17:22
According to Wikipedia, there are approximately 300 different Christian denominations, ranging from the Holy Roman Catholic Church to the non-denominational churches scattered around the world. Apparently we have not done a very good job of being unified. How could this be? Didn’t Yeshua (Jesus) pray that we would be one just as He and the Father are one? You would think that out of all the people who have prayed down through the ages, that His prayers would be the most powerful and would be answered. Why does it seem that this prayer has gone unanswered?
Could it be that we are more interested in what we want than what God wants? Or are we just so obsessed with our differences that we can’t see our common belief in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? The Christian church universal claims to be Israel, yet do we act like Israel? “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one!” The word translated as, “one” is the Hebrew word, “echad”, which actually means “a unified one”. As the people of God, we should be unified, but sadly that is not the case.
It’s time for us to stop looking at our differences and instead focus on what we have in common: a love for the Most High God. Yeshua (Jesus) did not come here to start a new religion, and neither did Paul. Both of these men were simply trying to give others a better understanding of the beliefs they already had, or to bring others from their pagan ways to the ways of the Father.
One thing we can all agree upon is the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, and that these writing were given to us by God Himself in order to show us who He is and what He expects from us. So, why is it that we don’t read and study the entire book? Remember, the early church did not have the writing of the apostles to reference; they only had what we now call the Old Testament. They were able to prove that Yeshua (Jesus) was Messiah using only the ancient texts. Could we do the same if challenged?
It’s time for us to stop playing at religion and start focusing on the relationship. It’s time for us to get serious about our faith and display to the world the saving grace found within Messiah through not only our words, but our actions as well. It’s time for us to dig deeply into the word of God and apply it to our lives, because one day soon our very lives will depend on not only how well we know the Father, but also how well we are known by Him. Remember, Yeshua (Jesus) warned us that many would say, “Lord, Lord” but would not make it into the Kingdom of God because He knew them not. Do we want to be like them, cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth? Or do we want to enter into His rest as a good and faithful servant? As the days fast approach the tribulation, we must prepare our hearts so that we may stand in that day.
