And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.
Acts 15:8-9 (ESV)
When we are bound by His blood as brothers and sisters, we easily fall into the wonderful fantasy that we are one. We look forward to our commonalities as God's children and forget about our differences, such as our cultural backgrounds and upbringings. However, when conflicts arise and burst the bubble we created for ourselves, we are reminded by the sermon, especially in Acts 15:8 - 9, that there is no distinction or superiority between us. We are all made according to His image, and only through this reminder can we communicate and embrace our differences to come to union.
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for creating each of us as unique individuals with different life experiences, so that we may come together to worship You. Help us to see the beauty in our differences, and to use them to complement each other, rather than focus on conflicts. Give us patience and love to understand and embrace these differences. We pray all this in Jesus' mighty name, Amen.
Hiu Ning Tai
