Your problem is my problem.

Our enemy is a crafty one. Since the beginning, he’s perfected his tactics. And he would much rather see us arguing with each other than worshipping together. If the Church isn’t unified in the mission, then we aren’t being as effective as we could be. And while people aren’t short on reasons to divide instead of unify, we are the Church, and God has called us to be one.

What seems impossible becomes more possible when we work together. That’s true for your family, your ministry teams, and for your specific church. And it’s true for all of the churches in your community. But for that to happen, we have to start acting like one unified body. When one member hurts, we all hurt. When one community hurts, all communities hurt. When one church hurts, all churches hurt. 

That’s why it’s so important for churches to fight for each other and not with each other. There’s nothing inspiring about that. It sends the message that there is chaos and question in the ranks, and no one flocks towards chaos. Our natural instinct is to lean away from it. 

We will make a greater impact on this generation if we work together to confront what needs to be rebuilt. Nehemiah decided that Jerusalem’s problems were his problems, and he did that while he was living 1000 miles away. Distance wasn’t an issue. The problems in his homeland were his problems, and it was his responsibility to do something because even though he wasn’t suffering the effects of those destroyed gates, his countrymen were. But he took that suffering on himself. When he shows up in Jerusalem and inspects it, he says, “Let us rebuild the walls, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” 

The problems in your families, churches, and communities don’t just belong to the people directly involved. If we’re going to call ourselves a global Church, then we need to be willing to take on the burden of other people and call those burdens our own. There are moms, dads, and guardians out there who are struggling to parent their kids with special needs well. There are people out there who are a different color than you who exist with different pressure points than you do. There are people out there who don’t share your views. There are people out there who are marginalized, who live below the poverty line, who are hurting because of injustices, or who live in a constant place of pain because they face impossible odds. And if you truly believe that we are one body, then their problems are your problems. Their problems are our problems. 

Tapping into that truth will lead us into a deeper, richer understanding of God’s plan for redemption. He didn’t come for a certain class, color, or group of people. He came for everyone—every person, every parent, every kid. And when the gates are down, it’s everyone’s problem.