What We Share

This morning as I looked through photos of Chinese Christians worshiping together, I was struck by all that we have in common. It’s easy to focus on our differences ­— they’re sitting in a one-room home with a dirt floor, wearing clothes that have seen more than a little wear. Some have shoes and some don’t; their hair is styled in ways mine would never manage. I can see that they have Bibles in their laps, but the Chinese script is meaningless to me.

But this morning I realized we really aren’t that different. They sat in a room on chairs and on the floor, much like my own small group from church. One of their members was standing, reading from the scriptures. Children are listening, sleeping on laps or playing in the corner.

My group from church is made up of nine couples. We cover a range of ages and have children of different ages. We have different professions and different backgrounds. But despite our differences, we are united in the pursuit of deeper fellowship with God and each other. And we share that much with the Chinese believers. They, too, are committed to growing in their relationship with God. They depend on each other for encouragement and sometimes even finances.

That’s where the fellowship of believers that we talk about so often at VOM comes in — looking for what we have in common, allowing ourselves to be united (Psalm 122) through our bond with Christ, instead of letting worldly differences drive us apart. May we look for the commonalities we share as we pray for and support our brothers and sisters.