Sunday Class @ 9am; Worship @ 10am & 5pm
Articles
Becoming as One
My family and I have seen the movie Remember the Titans many times. It is based on a true story that took place in a small Virginia town in 1971. The town desegregated their high schools, combining the black school and white school. Joining the schools also meant joining their football teams, which became the focus of the movie. Like the rest of the town, at first the blacks and whites on the football team tried to keep their distance from and show disrespect for one another.
But then a new football coach came to town. Some readily accepted him, while others wanted to get rid of him. During a grueling training camp, he finally got the players to look past the color of one’s skin, lay aside their differences, and join together as one to become a great football team. By the end of the movie, they helped bring about change and draw the people of the town together as one.
A similar situation took place nearly two thousand years ago. Different nationalities despised one another. Some people were made slaves, being abused by their masters and treated worse than animals should be treated. Men looked down upon women as having no rights.
But then a man named Jesus come to town to preach the message of “the kingdom” (Matt 4:17). While some accepted His message, others rejected Him and crucified Him. Yet His message continued to be spread by a small band of men He had chosen for the task. They began by converting three thousand in one day (Acts 2). The nationalities who once hated one another now rejoiced at the conversion of one another (Acts 11:18). The masters now viewed their slaves as brethren (Philemon 16). Men loved women as themselves (Eph 5:28-29). One of the chosen ones later wrote of the reform, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:26-28).
While many men have helped unite others together as one, none have done so like Jesus the Christ. Through His blood and obedience to Him, we can become one for eternity. May we always remember!
