![]() ![]() He rebuked his disciples when they tried to keep children away and welcomed their distraction with open arms ( Matthew 19). While the religious people around Jesus were notorious for their hypocrisy, Jesus always “practiced what he preached.” For example, Jesus went out of his way to stop and have a conversation with an ashamed and divorced Samaritan woman in John 4. Not only did Jesus teach about it, though. Even more than that, Jesus raised the bar so high with how we treat others that he said to “be perfect” ( Matthew 5:48). ![]() He said not to retaliate when someone hurts you, but to “turn the other cheek” ( Matthew 5). He taught that people who recognized their spiritual poverty and hunger would be blessed instead of those who had it all together ( Matthew 6). In fact, Jesus did exponentially more to bring people together than anyone else in history - combined! While Jesus’ goal was not just to end social injustices (although many in his day wanted him to), what he accomplished made a way for injustices and sins of every kind to be totally forgiven and overcome. If that is what we have to work with, no wonder every generation (especially ours today) deals with hatred, division, and racism - it is our nature.īut then someone came along and offered humanity a different way. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God ( Galatians 5:19-21, NLT). ![]() Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. The Apostle Paul describes who we are apart from Christ: Of course, it makes sense that we are so hateful and divisive when you consider the depravity of humanity. Sadly, it seemed to go downhill from there. The first child ever born killed his only brother (who was the second child to ever be born!). In the Book of Genesis, we read that Adam and Eve’s son, Cain, got angry and “rose up against his brother Abel and killed him” ( Genesis 4:8, ESV). The Bible shows us that it has been that way pretty much from the beginning. From riots to wars to concentration camps, it seems to me that humanity has managed to fight and separate more often than they have been peaceful and unified. On their profile, tap the three dots at the top, tap Friends, select Edit Friend List, and then tap Restricted.You do not have to look very far through human history to see that we have a consistent pattern of division. X Research source However, you can add someone individually by visiting their profile.
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