Uniter or Divider?

These few weeks have been very tumultuous for our country. As I write this from Cleveland, OH, the Republican National Convention will be kicking off tomorrow. Protests have already started. I am finding myself praying fervently for our city and our country in these times. It seems like everyone has an opinion on what divides us. Everyone has an opinion on what will correct these racial, generational, and political differences we seem to have.

As I have been contemplating this, I find myself asking the basic question - am I a uniter or a divider? That is, I am part of the solution or do I just want to find a way to whine about the problem. As protesters were gathering for next week, about 1,000 of us gathered yesterday at the Wolstein Center to lift our country, our city up in prayer. I was struck by the crowd which crossed racial, generational, ethnic, and denominational lines. The event (www.theresponseusa.org) was completely apolitical. In fact, at the start of it, it even made a point of saying it would not even mention any names or any parties.

The unifying factor for this group was a common faith in Jesus Christ. I found myself in a prayer huddle surrounded with people whom I just met but had an immediate common bond with. Paul says that the "he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility" (Eph. 2:14). It is the common bond of Christ that allowed me to walk into that building and immediately feel like I was part of a family gathering. And the family had a united mission - to pray our city and our country through these challenging times.