Love Over All

All of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.

My first job out of graduate school was at our local Veterans Affairs Medical Center. I worked in the residential treatment program and was hired alongside several new grads. One of those was Katrina, who had an office next to mine, and who, on the surface, appeared to be my opposite. She was raised in the South by her grandmother, so we’d certainly grown up in different environments.

And yet, Katrina and I had a lot in common. We both were raised in strict Christian homes, attended college and graduate school, and were passionate about becoming therapists. Over the two years I worked with Katrina, she taught me much about her history and upbringing—things I hadn’t ever learned or been taught about in school, like Juneteenth and Black Wall Street. She explained things that had happened to her, the discrimination she had known. And because I knew her, it broke my heart. I couldn’t imagine anyone treating her as anything less than the valuable person I saw and knew her to be. She was kind and caring, generous and funny. I found myself grateful for her friendship and her willingness to be open with me, teaching me things I hadn’t previously known.

The first Christians faced many of the same challenges that we do today with regard to differing backgrounds and traditions. They were a diverse group of people gathering together in ways they hadn’t before Jesus came. They were Jews, Gentiles, Samaritans, and more—all trying to navigate a new way to live and follow God together. Paul, Peter, and other New Testament writers were constantly encouraging them to be of one mind, to sympathize, and to listen to one another. Love one another. Be tenderhearted.

Today, the church is just as diverse, and we would do well to follow this same encouragement. Listen. Love. Sympathize. Treat one another as brothers and sisters. Because that’s who we are in Christ Jesus.

Kendra

Today’s Act of Gratitude

Find someone who has had a different upbringing than you and listen to their story. See what you can learn from their life.