In many ways it seems as though our country and world are as divided as ever; adversity surrounds us. These days, a quick scroll through social media or stroll through your neighborhood reveal heated debates and intense interactions over things like masks, vaccines, restrictions, insurrections, donkeys and elephants. Tragically, these debates have not remained outside the walls of the church. They have crashed through the doors of each church like a shore rattling wave at high tide off the coast of Hawaii. This shift in the hearts and minds of church goers have taken what previously might have been crevice-sized differences of opinion frequently covered by grace and created chasm-sized gaps. These gaps threaten to cause the church to drift away from Godly character, distract the church from God’s mission and destroy the church’s Gospel witness amidst a world that is always watching.
Crisis reveals character. Pressure first reveals what lies beneath, and then either bonds us together or breaks us apart. This holds true whether you’re talking about a sports team, a marriage, or a church. The Great Commission doesn’t come with any pandemic or insurrection nullification clauses. It is not an elective to opt in or opt out of for the believer. It is a command and a loving directive from our Commander in Chief, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords that we have the privilege and responsibility of obeying every day and everywhere.
