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Making Room for Each Other

With Blackhawks season in full swing, it’s not difficult to remember a time when hockey was a bit less interesting in Chicago. But the diehard fan reading this is probably thinking, “Hockey has always been interesting in Chicago!” What drives lifelong Blackhawks fans crazy are bandwagon fans. Most of us have probably been a bandwagon fan at one time or another.

When a team is in the playoffs, we are suddenly interested. We get a t-shirt and might even know a player or two, but are we in it for the long haul? Probably not. If you’ve ever watched a hockey game in a sports bar, you know that these two groups of people have trouble accepting each other into the family.

In a strange way, this has some parallels with God’s family. Some people have been Jesus followers for a long time. They have been witness to the highs and lows that happen in any organization. They’ve struggled and seen God show up. They’ve seen marriages rescued, lives changed, and have funded countless ministry projects.

Other people are just starting out. They might have spent years rejecting the church and everything it stands for, or they might be discovering God for the first time. Now that they have found peace and fulfillment in Jesus, they are excited to be a member of the family. And just like Blackhawks fans, these two groups of people can have trouble accepting each other.

This is exactly what was going on when the book of Acts was written. Jewish people had spent hundreds of years experiencing a special relationship with God. Then because of Jesus, all of a sudden everyone on the planet was allowed to have the very same relationship with God. Acts 10:35 says that God accepts “from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.” Veteran God followers and new family members had to make room for each other.

When we truly seek unity, it is essential for us to seek it within the church as much as we do in our neighborhoods. That’s the beauty of God’s family.

If you’ve been a Christian a long time, how do you need to reach out to people new to the faith and walk alongside them? If you’re new, how can you learn and gain wisdom from someone who’s been walking with Jesus for a long time?