Hindsight is 20/20. Current Events, Not So Much.

            In the first century, Jews, Samaritans, and Greeks were at odds with each other. Jews and Samaritans had been bickering for centuries, and Jews did not like that Samaritans were half-breeds who had both Israelite and Gentile bloodlines. The feeling was mutual, however, because Samaritans were not fond of Jews either, never having forgotten that they had destroyed the Samaritans’ temple a century earlier. As a result, Samaritans defiled the Jewish temple in Jerusalem with human bones that they scattered across the floor of the sacred building. As a result, the two people groups had given up on any hope of an amicable resolution.   

Jews did not like the Greeks’ pagan practices, and were reviled by a number of their cultural proclivities. Greeks also thought poorly of the Jews, ridiculing the aspects of their culture that they found downright odd. In their prayers, some Jews thanked God that they had not been born as Gentiles, and Gentiles also appear to have been pleased that they were not born as Jews. Simply put, the first century world was full of bitter ethnic conflicts that divided people and caused much pain.

After Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, many Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles placed their faith in Christ, understanding that Jesus is the only way to Father God (John 14:5). Now that these men and women were followers of Jesus, they began to understand the unity they enjoyed as Christians. The book of Acts, along with other New Testament books, record the struggles that Christians from different cultures endured as they sometimes failed to reconcile with one another, allowing ethnic issues to divide them even though they were brothers and sisters. In the end, many of them finally understood their need to reconcile, but their stubbornness made the process more difficult than it needed to be.

Two thousand year later, we are living in a different era. Thankfully, we have learned the painful lessons of the past, and no longer have race problems. We have learned to embrace one another as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and have put the priorities of the kingdom above temporal issues. We listen to one another’s concerns, and speak the truth in love. We realize that different racial groups need not be at odds with one another, and we have learned to work on our problems together in concrete, practical ways. It’s a good thing that we’ve applied well the lessons of Scripture concerning unity, otherwise we would have to give an account to God one day for why we didn’t put His words into practice and embrace unity. After all, in John 13:35 Jesus declared, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another.” It’s good that we’ve taken this teaching to heart, since it is so important.

Unfortunately, the previous paragraph is a fiction. As you know, ethnic divisions and conflicts still rage, even amongst a sizeable percentage of American Christians. Jesus, however, calls us to work our problems and enjoy unity, and reaching this worthy goal will take effort on all of our parts. Some ignore that problems exist. Others have thrown up their hands in defeat and declare that nothing will ever change. Some complain that the issue of race comes up too often. Others worry that it does not come up enough. Some continue to offend their brothers and sisters. Others have been hurt and disillusioned so often that they reject any overtures of unity.

It’s easy to spot the shortcomings of the first century Christians, but much more difficult to notice our own. May we open our eyes, open our hearts, and pursue concrete solutions that will help us to know unity as Christians.