Us and Them... Uggh

I hate "us and them". I really do wish we were all one big happy family. I believe that a great Christian reality is that we are a family. We are adopted by OUR heavenly father. We are brothers and sisters. We are one. From God's point of view we are not divided by what we believe or how we do business, or even by practical things like location, or any thing else you can think of. We are his family. All our divisions are man made and are not spiritual, right, biblical or Godly. They are just not. When God sees his children in Corinth... that's what he sees, his children.

I had five children. They are all very, very, very different. Two are girls and three are boys. Some are brainy, some jocks, some outdoorsy, some bossy, some compliant ( well maybe that's a wish on the compliant thing). But they are my kids. Love em like a fat man loves cake. Live under the same roof with em. And I hate it when they are at each other. I want them to love each other, be best friends, hang out, learn from each other, help each other solve problems, have each others back.... all that. Don't you? And I think it would be the coolest thing in the world if they all when they transitioned into adulthood that they hung out, shared life together, became business partners. Ahhh its stirs the father's heart to think of such things.

And nothing hurts me more to see that my kids won't love each other, work together, are jealous of each other, are selfish and won't help each other, won't share friends with each other.... all that. It just hurts me. Doesn't it hurt you?

Can't you imagine how father must feel when he sees his kids here in Corinth? Hmmm, there's my beautiful kids over there, oh I remember when I raised em... cute little guys. They decided to call themselves Baptists. Man I love em. Look how stong they are. Really hurts that won't even talk to their brothers and sisters across the street. Look at them. Oh man, I remember when they were young... want to see the photo album? They now call themselves Methodist. Don't ever do anything with the rest of the family. And I think the rest of the family thinks this is cool or I like it or something cause there are so many of these different things they've named themselves now.

What really hurts me is some of my kids don't make as much as the other ones. I gifted em each different, but the ones who have more never spend time with the ones that don't. And don't even go there about this other pain. I have a bunch of kids in Corinth, you know. And some of my kids have different complexions than others. Very pale all the way to very dark. Can you believe that my pale kids won't even share hardly any life at all with my dark kids? Man that hurts.

Here's what I want. I want to call a family meeting. I'd like 'em all to come to dad's house and let me tell them again, in the prescence of their brothers and sisters, how much I love them all. How much I want them to use their 'trust funds' that I gave them to help each other. I want to tell them how bad its hurts that they don't care about each other and that they've come up with every excuse in the world not to love each other and hang out together and I'm sick of it. Wanna hear an irony? They think thay meet me at my house on Sunday's. Hello! Not my house... my house is not divided. Yours may be, but mine isn't. Father's house is the place where all the kids are present and welcome. Where our differences are real cause that's the way I made my kids. Different, not divided... different. Some jocks, some nerds, some pale, some dark.... different. Father's house is a place where brothers and sisters take turn doing chores, help each other with homework, have each others back, love each other, are best friends.

Know any place like that? Ahhhh stirs the father's heart to think of such things.

BC