Each of us has been given a portion of responsibility for Shalom in the family of God…a portion of relational unity assigned to us! In this message we consider two words: beware and belong. Beware of Satan’s deceptive practices, always trying to lure us into a place of complacency with a false peace. Beware of his pattern of taking advantage of a Godly desire and misdirecting us down a false path. With peace, this false path often takes the form of seeking harmony through ridding ourselves relationally of everyone who is different that we are…so beware! Belong to a diverse community of people (especially your church) where you are challenged to work together with people who look, think, vote, live…differently than you! Biblical Shalom is found in harmony, not sameness. If we follow the pattern of Jesus as found with the disciples, the Jerusalem Church in Acts, and Paul in his epistles, we will seek harmony among diversity, oneness and not sameness…so belong! In Matthew 17:24-27 Jesus says something often overlooked. He says to be careful about offending others. Have we, the Body of Christ, become too comfortable offending others and become too easily offended? Shalom, peace with your portion…peace with others.
by City Life