Unity

Unity

8/25/14

The events that are taking place around the world can be mind boggling at times.  With all of the violence and tensions that have been in place over the past few months, it would seem like there is no possible way that the world can be unified once again.  But there is a solution to our current position and it comes in the simple form and acknowledgment of God.  We may find temporary rest and comfort in our quest of selfish unity but a worldly feeling of unity will only last for just a temporary moment. The peace and relaxation that all of us seek can only be found through God if only we just open our hearts back up to His ways.

As some of you might have heard the World Cup tournament just concluded a few weeks ago.  For those of you who do not know what the World Cup is it is an international tournament that is held once in every four years to determine the best soccer country in the world. The United States made this tournament and provided some much needed relaxation and unity while they were competing in this arena.  It was refreshing to see some of the current and ongoing national animosities go by the wayside for a while and to enjoy togetherness by many of our citizens.  It was wonderful to see a great number of our citizens from different races, social beliefs and denominational backgrounds to embrace each other in festive dances and songs while all gathered around to watch our country be represented in this spectacular event.

The world by now knows that the US team bowed out of the tournament in its knockout round by a determined Belgian squad.  This Belgian squad had much to prove to the world and to its own citizens while they were performing on this stage level.  While this was an important match for both squads it represented a great deal of unity to the Belgian team and country.  For the most part our country has been decently unified ever since the mid 1800s and has kept our union intact with little or no major obstacles to impede this stabile environment; however, this topic is up for debate now too and will probably continue to stride along divisional lines until something ridiculous occurs within our society.

What many people within the United States may not understand is that Belgium has been torn in half with its heritage at stake.  The country of Belgium was once a great country and had an influential empire that dominated many areas of the world.  Belgium suffered greatly during both world wars and has yet to recover, on a personal level, since that era in history.  Belgium is ethnically split into two parts and the divisions of this country run directly across this line as well, to the point where there is serious consideration that the country be separated and made into two different countries.

Of course this type of condition cannot bode well for Belgium and it is difficult for us in the States to comprehend what kind of feeling that would be to continually live under.  For as long as soccer has been in existence it has brought unity to its supporters and while this unity may just be on a local or small scale it does help the morale of that area.  The World Cup is one of the longest and toughest competitions to enter and compete within and if a country’s team is lucky enough to qualify for this competition the country can be thrilled beyond belief.  Belgium is one of these countries that need this type of unity even if it is only a temporary one.

Many news articles have been printed over the last few months concerning the unity of Belgium and the dire need of some type of help in order to re-establish the country’s belief in itself.  The World Cup was deemed this “needed help” and the manner in which the Belgian team is playing it is obvious that this tournament is working along these lines.  The Belgian press has been doing its best to promote the team and its accomplishments and up until this moment have had plenty of good reports to deliver.  The match between the US and Belgium was going to be the toughest for Belgium so far and from the quality of their play, the team was ready to make their mark back onto the world setting.

We also know that Belgium did not survive past the third round of the World Cup and that their team did a lot for the temporary unity of that small country.  I do not know how long those specific feelings of unity will last in that country but I hope that Belgium will find peace within herself for an extended period of time.  And in that manner I trust that our country’s feelings of unity last for quite some time as well. But given that note we all know that when humans are involved in any matter confusion and division is a possibility, simply because our eyes are on the physical instead of the spiritual.  Yes, even in dire needs of a country’s unity the spiritual aspect of our lives and survival comes into play; a concept that we have voluntarily thrown away.  And holding true to form our country has once again been plunged into a heated controversy from within the confines of our heartland.  The temporary peace and tranquility is once again marred by humanness.

Anyone who has followed my family for any amount of time knows that my father took many missions trips during his pastoral career. Even though some of these trips were made to one certain country the reasons for those trips always varied.  Mom and dad made several trips to El Salvador when I was younger and through these trips many accomplishments to those people were made.  No one can ever deny that my parents loved the mission field for not only did they send regular offerings to these people they went to these people and they loved spending personal time with them as well; when they were in country.  This is exactly what Jesus would have done when He was on earth, spending time with the people and teaching them the ways of God. 

On many occasions my parents stayed with one particular family while they were visiting El Salvador.  This family had no real connections to the United States but were godly people who also wanted to help their country recover from a brutal civil war as much as possible, so welcoming missionaries was a wonderful concept in their lives.  The head of the household was a man by the name of Tony.  He was born and raised in El Salvador and had never really been out of the regional area; namely Central America.  His wife’s name was Sylvia and they had kids between them which were teenagers at the time that my parents were traveling to their country.

Many of the trips that my parents were involved with had to do with building projects.  Churches, housing complexes, schools and water facilities were a few that were completed during these trips.  All of these projects required approval from the El Salvadoran government and then had to have governmental approved supervisors on location as well.  This added only to the language confusion but somehow everyone got along and understood the ultimate goal of the project and worked together to complete the job.

Tony spoke no English at all and up until that time had no real reason to do so.  Tony’s son Tony Jr. did speak English and when necessary did a fabulous job translating for both sides of the language barrier.  Most of the time when on the work site locations some sort of interpreter was available to everyone out on the work sights, but it was not a guaranteed detail that all would understand the exact meaning of what was being communicated; lost in translation became a famous and unique phrase to the ones involved.  When these details came about communicating could prove to be difficult.  Tony Sr. was always willing to help out as much as possible but the communication skills concerning the English and Spanish language barriers were troublesome at times.  Anyone who has been overseas where the people surrounding you do not share a common language knows that it can be frustrating when the communication lines are disrupted for any reason.

A cultural crossroads came to ahead on one of these early trips to El Salvador, so much so that the frustrations of the workers on both sides were running a little thin.  Dad and Tony tried to communicate once more in order that the project to move forward.  While I have not heard Tony Sr’s version of the story, which I will have to wait until heaven to hear, but according to dad God decided to show up at that site and change the perception of each other’s communication skills.  According to dad when he would speak to Tony in English his words seemed like they transformed into Spanish because Tony understood what dad was trying to convey to him.  In return, Tony would speak Spanish to dad and through this spiritual communication dad could understand what Tony was trying to convey to him as well.  Both men speaking two separate languages understanding what the other had to say without understanding a physical word of the other language.  It is also of note to say that once this communication link was started between these two men, it never broke.  Dad said he could never explain it completely but he knew that God had His hand in the communication process between Tony and him and this bond continued every time that dad and tony worked together.

This type of communication is not unheard of and to be honest it is not the first time that I have heard of it happening either.  Later in my life I heard of a story, a close personal friend of mine, which traveled to another country, this time in Africa, who was sitting in a room where the other occupants spoke their native languages yet this person heard the entire conversation in English.  There is only one explanation for this phenomenon and that is God.  We must remember that God can do whatever He wishes especially if we have a heart that is open to the advancement of His Kingdom.

Tony and dad never really spent much time together with the exception of the times that dad was in El Salvador.  There is no physical possibility that both dad and Tony could understand each other on a conversational level unless God had something to do with it.  I use this example as a reference point to allow us to understand that if we are willing to allow God to rearrange the inner order to which we live, He will place His spirit first within our lives and we will be amazed at how many things get completed.  Will God allow you to understand a different language that you have never even studied?  I have heard of that happening but I do not honestly know.  God created everything so He has everything to work with as long as we allow Him to work through us and not vice versa.

Did this mean that Tony and dad would now agree on everything?  Probably not.  But what it does signify is that when we allow God to be number one in our lives He will find a way for us to agree on things that represent a potential barrier.  All God wants is for us to have hearts that are set on His Kingdom being advanced which means that our selfish and denominational ideologies take a backseat to God’s Ways. This is a prime example of how the Church is supposed to work with others throughout the world and it is a purposeful statement to the kingdom of the world that God is the ultimate being in charge.

It is through this concept that we can work together as long s we place God number one in our lives.  When we believe in this manner it does not matter what church we attend nor does it matter what our goals are within our individual church organizations, the only thing that matters is advancing the Kingdom of God to a darkened world.  This is exactly what Jesus portrayed His Church and His Bride to be. Out in the open helping and serving others in His name and not for a denominational record book.  When our focus lands upon denominational plans or any other type of plans besides the advancement of God’s the unity that we hold at that moment will fall away as soon as the enemy gets a chance to intervene.  It is only through the placement of God first in our lives that human unity will be seen and witnessed as a permanent marker.

It has become evident that the Church has lost the vision of God and has turned to the world for sanctuary.  It is also evident that the Church, right at the moment, does not wish to reconnect with God and to return to His ways and that she is satisfied with the outcome of her involvement with the world.  God shall allow this action to continue for a set amount of time and the so called “unity and love” through the world’s standards will collapse; it is not a matter of if, but when.  Anyone who watches the news or reads a newspaper will agree that the world is spinning out of control, so why would anyone wish to align themselves with something that is headed for a disaster?  Yet, we mask the truth with a false flag of opportunity and expand our risk of tumbling for eternity.  The concepts of a dying world cannot be a safe bet and we continue to place the blinders on our eyes when it comes to this situation.

It is time for the Church to wake up and to change her course.  For if we do not there will be millions that will miss the intended plans of God and therefore miss out on God completely.  We need to repent and change our ways immediately and seek restoration so that we may once again fulfill the mission that God has for us.  I do kind of find it funny that we try and ask God for directions on this matter yet continue to try and justify our sinful actions.  Spiritually the Church cannot afford to walk in this manner for very much longer because if she does then the complete spiritual authority of her presence will be in question and her physical legitimacy will be rendered impotent. Returning to God and His Ways and allowing our faith to be led by the Spirit, will be the only way that we can become permanently unified again to be effective in our true mission.  At the moment it is still our choice to either place God first or to reject Him but even the Church needs to be reminded of this saying, every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord over all!

DLB