Going PlacesSample

Have you ever waited to start a trip until you had the exact right playlist ready? Or maybe you spent hours preparing in advance to really set the tone as you started driving. Having the right music can really make or break a road trip. So how can we learn to make space for the times there are differing opinions about what to listen to? What can we do to help our friendship when we experience disagreements?

Jesus once took time to pray for his disciples, and when he did, he had a lot to say about divisions in relationships. What's cool is that Jesus didn't just pray for his disciples to learn to overcome disagreements, but he prayed for us. Jesus' prayer focused on the ways his followers could remember to stick together even when they disagree. He wanted all of his followers to see how they are connected and unified through God. It wasn't a prayer to squash all of the conflict or to become copies of each other. Instead, it was a prayer to seek unity and to learn how to appreciate different opinions, backgrounds, and ideas.

When we experience disagreements and differences in our friendships, there's a lot we can do to live in line with Jesus' prayer. We can be curious about differences. We can honor the stories our friends share. We can even celebrate the things we have in common and learn about what our friends love. As we do, we'll live knowing friends don't let differences divide them.