Hi everyone,

I was talking to a friend the other day about my kids, something that I often do, and they commented on how different our kids are in spite of them being parented by the same people in the same environment. And I know I talked about this last week (sort of), but along those lines that I don’t think I mentioned last week is how our family gets along in spite of their differences.

Sure, we have our moments when tempers flare, but there is no doubt in my mind that if push ever dares come close to shove, these kids would be there for each other, stand up for each other, and do what they can to ensure that each other are ok. I just hope it won’t involve any violence because ain’t none of these kids prepared for that.

My point is that their unity doesn’t equate to their sameness. It can’t, because they are so different. Different in needs, wants, and preferences. Sure, there are crossovers, but I really don’t know if you’d know they’re siblings if you didn’t know they were siblings.

But they remain united. They stay connected. They are strong in their love for each other (although they would never admit that in the entirety of their lives).

Here are the readings for next week:
Jeremiah 20:7-13
Psalm 69:7-10, 16-18
Romans 6:1b-11
Matthew 10:24-39
and a video of them being read:

It always strikes me how Jesus says that he doesn’t come to bring peace, but a sword. Like, how do we even make sense of that? it sounds so counter to everything we know of Jesus.

I don’t think that Jesus came to divide people for the sake of division. I don’t think that Jesus came to start fights. I don’t think that Jesus is this rabble rouser who gets a kick out of rousing up some rabble.

But I think Jesus is saying that he didn’t come to produce cookie-cutter people. He isn’t trying to ensure that everyone is identical. His goal was never sameness.

Jesus came to unite us, but that doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything. Jesus came to join us as one community, but that doesn’t mean we must always see eye-to-eye. Jesus came to save us, in our diversity, in our differences, in our distinctiveness.

So just like how our kids will love each other no matter what, so can we love each other in spite of whatever reason we might give ourselves to not. Jesus tells us that we’re worth it, so we can believe that it’s true.

Have a great week, everyone!