Common Ground

“Finding the disciples there, we stayed with them seven days.”  Acts 21:4

My oldest daughter and several others in her youth group returned five days ago from a Spring Break out-of-state mission trip.  If offered the option, all would gleefully head back this very moment.  Why?  Was picking up tornado debris really that exciting?  Was clearing abandoned fields and cleaning neglected yards that exhilarating? No, it wasn’t what they did but who they met which makes them want to return. 

They have little in common—our group and these people to whom they have become so attached.  They are from different cultures and different continents.  They aren’t close in age and are in separate stages of life.  The students are focused on homework and facebook.  Their new friends have small children and are trying to scrape by.   But the love and grace of Jesus created a connection that will long endure. 

It’s supposed to be that way.   Christians, no matter our various backgrounds or diverse bank accounts, should quickly bond with those who share belief in Jesus.  As we mix and mingle in the different locations of life, we should tell God’s good news to those who don’t know Him, and we should also look for and link up with the ones who do. 

As soon the Apostle Paul’s sailing ship landed at Tyre, he started searching.  “Finding the disciples there, we stayed with them seven days”(Acts 21:4).  The boat’s cargo was being unloaded, and all Paul and his travelling buddies had to do was wait, but instead of whittling time away at cafes near the docks, they started looking for those who also loved Jesus.  Their fraternity was based on faith—and not much else.  Paul was Jewish, and the people of Tyre were Phoenicians.  Just like our youth group and its newfound friends, their cultures were different, their ages weren’t all the same, they were in separate stages of life—and they only had a few days together.  But the love and grace of Jesus created a connection that will long endure.  “When our time was up, we left and continued on our way.  All the disciples and their wives and children accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray”(Acts 21:5). 

Before our group left last Friday, they also shared a prayer—not on a beach but by the bus.  To them, it didn’t matter where they were; it was who they were with—the family of faith. 

We don’t have to be alike to really like each other. 
Our common ground is at the cross.  Let’s stand together.