A Penny for Your Thoughts

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus.

– Romans 15:5

According to Coin World, the United States Mint produced nearly 7.6 billion pennies in 2021. And each one of them features biblical truths that we should not overlook. 

First, the penny was one of the first American coins to include the motto In God We Trust. Now look at the coin’s reverse side. There you’ll see the phrase E Pluribus Unum, which is Latin for "out of many, one." An early motto of the United States, it signifies that our nation was founded when the 13 original colonies united behind the common cause of liberty. The Founding Fathers from Massachusetts often clashed politically and socially with their compatriots in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Georgia. But they put aside their many differences to write the Declaration of Independence, win the Revolutionary War and eventually ratify the Constitution.

Out of 13 small, divergent colonies was born a great nation, which today boasts nearly 330 million people representing countless varied cultures. From San Francisco’s Chinatown to New York’s Little Italy, it’s no wonder that the United States is called The Great Melting Pot.

Here’s where the Bible lesson comes in: The Church — meaning all the Christ-followers on Earth — is also a place of immense diversity. Christ-followers come from different religious traditions and have a broad range of preferences regarding worship music and sermon style. The Church is a place where all races are welcome and present. It mingles the rich, the poor and the middle class. But what unites them all — or at least should bring them together — is a common faith and focus on Jesus as Lord and Savior. As the saying goes: “Level is the ground beneath the cross.”

And that’s just the way God wants it. Shortly before his arrest and crucifixion, Jesus prayed to his Father about the Church — meaning not only his original followers, but also Believers in the centuries to follow:  

"I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

Christ’s prayer links the dusty streets of 1st century Israel with the crowded superhighways of modern North America and Europe … and everywhere in between. But exactly how will Jesus’ Church be made whole? It starts with a common focus on Him, along with faith on God’s power rather than reliance on the world’s so-called wisdom. What then will spring forth is unity — not uniformity. And it’s in this same spirit that we should embrace the Apostle Paul’s admonition to some of the earliest Christ-followers:

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another,” he wrote to the Colossians. “Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

The Company We Keep

 Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.

– Proverbs 13:20

The saying goes that you can know someone by the company they keep. 

How about for you? Are most of your friends other Christ-followers … and is your day filled with Bible studies, Gel Groups and Christian music? Or maybe you’re on the other end of the scale. Most of your friends don’t know about Jesus — or even know that you’re a Christ-follower. Of course, you might be somewhere in the middle — spending your time with believers and non-believers alike while serving as Christ’s hands and feet in the community. Jesus calls his followers in this third group the Salt of the Earth. And it’s through these special people that God’s kingdom grows by influencing those from all walks of life: from the rich and famous to the infamous and obscure.

That’s the way it’s been since Jesus invited his first follower over 2,000 years ago in a remote outpost of the Roman Empire. And it’s unlikely that his disciples would have been chosen by any respectable rabbi of the day. After all, some were fishermen, one was a tax collector and another (Simon the Zealot) might be considered a terrorist by today’s standards.

Yet Jesus chose them anyway, and they changed the world. One of these Regular Joes was a fisherman named Peter. A flawed character by his own admission, Peter, like everyone, had his strengths and weaknesses. One of his darkest hours was when he three times denied even knowing the Savior — even after years of following Jesus and proclaiming him the Son of God! But after visiting Jesus’ empty tomb and later actually conversing with him after the Resurrection, Peter’s actions and words portrayed an utterly changed life and outlook.

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter would soon preach to crowds of thousands, who we read were torn to the heart when he proclaimed that Jesus — the one they had crucified — was their long-awaited Messiah. Scripture reports that Peter’s words so disturbed the High Priest and the religious leaders that they demanded to know by what power the apostles dared to declare Jesus and the Resurrection. 

“But when they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men,” we read in Acts, “they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

Centuries later, Jesus continues to change the lives of those who seek and trust him. And his followers still come from all over. They work for insurance companies, supermarkets, fast food restaurants and banks. Others are homemakers, sales representatives, police officers and marketing executives. And still more are between jobs, retired or work part-time. But for all their differences, there’s a basic commonality: their fervent belief in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Families are fed, clothed and housed through their contributions and work in local food pantries, the Salvation Army and similar organizations. The sick are cured through the healing touch of healthcare professionals, who also happen to trust Jesus. Meanwhile, other Christ-followers teach the illiterate to read and the undereducated to gain critical job skills.

What’s obvious is that Jesus likes to mix it up! His Church — meaning all the Christ-followers on Earth — is a living, breathing entity of immense diversity. And it’s also a place where all races are present; a mingling of the rich, the poor and the middle class. But above all, it’s where everyone who seeks Christ and a changed life through him are welcome among the company we keep. 

All for One

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

– 1 Corinthians 12:13

When it comes to relationships, do you believe that opposites attract? Or is it more your experience that birds of a feather flock together?

For those in a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, the answer really is both. One of the most reassuring truths of the Bible is that God wants to be in a personal, loving relationship with you regardless of your race, gender or nationality. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’ve been or what you’ve done. Everyone is welcome to accept God’s free gift of forgiveness and live a new changed life as a Christ-follower. Our past failures no longer matter and can be forgotten. We can all be born again.

So opposites do attract in this spiritual relationship. And you can see it for yourself at church. At any given Sunday service, you worship with people of different ages, political viewpoints and nationalities. Some love the Hokies while others root for the Wahoos or the Dukes. It’s diversity personified!

Yet for all their differences, Christ-followers around the world share at least one thing that unifies them — and sets them apart from everyone else on Earth. It’s their common, fervent belief in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. And it’s this same common faith that helps us share in the joys and overcome the different struggles, disappointments and even tragedies that we all face along our unique faith-journeys.

As a diverse group of Christ-followers sharing in a single, incredible relationship, we’re by definition all for One. But that’s not enough. What’s much more important is that we know there’s One who’s for us all.

Plugged In

 My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

– 2 Corinthians 12:9

If the number-crunchers are right, 2021’s holiday retail sales figures exceeded expectations — even against the backdrop of a questionable economy and COVID-19. In fact, preliminary data from MasterCard SpendingPulse, which measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment, reveals that retail sales climbed 8.5% over last year for the period spanning November 1 to December 24, and online sales jumped 11%.

One thing for sure is that many of those purchases were for high-tech devices such as smart phones, digital assistants (like Apple Siri and Amazon Alexa) and ultra-high-definition TVs. And it’s also likely that many of the gift-getters didn’t wait to use their expensive new toys. But then, the inevitable happened: They opened the boxes, and everything looked ready. And after some tinkering and a bit of giddy anticipation, they pushed the gadget’s ON button. Then ... nothing.

So what happened?

They thought they’d covered the bases. And after frantically skimming the instructions manual for the fourth time, they called the manufacturer’s customer service line. Then after 10 minutes on-hold, it finally dawned on them: There was no power because they forgot to insert a battery or plug in the device.

In some ways this is an apt illustration of our spiritual lives. How many times have we tried to deal with a seemingly impossible situation or gigantic challenge, only to look back and recall that we forgot to ask for God’s power? Jesus illustrates this principle though the vital relationship between a vine (Him) and its branches (His followers):

“Stay joined to me, and I will stay joined to you. Just as a branch cannot produce fruit unless it stays joined to the vine, you cannot produce fruit unless you stay joined to me,” he explains. “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I stay joined to you, then you will produce lots of fruit. But you cannot do anything without me.”

The problem is that we tend to convince ourselves that we don’t need anyone’s help. Everything is OK, we say. All is right with the world. And we’re just fine living as a Lone Ranger Christian.

But we know these words are false as soon as they pass our lips. Rather than branching out alone and trying to be our own vine, we must stay connected to our Creator and acknowledge our own weaknesses. What's more, he knew that no one could do life on their own, which is one reason that Christ founded the Church — that worldwide group of Believers who proclaim Him as their Lord and Savior. 

In addition to being there for each other, Christ-followers were made to experience life together. And it’s together that we’re in the perfect position to plug in and let God’s power flow through us.

 

Vital Signs

On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

– Mark 2:17

When you’re at the doctor's office, chances are that a nurse will put a thermometer in your mouth to record your temperature, and a cuff around your arm to gauge your blood pressure. She might also put her fingers on your wrist to measure your pulse. These vital signs establish a baseline of your body's general condition to help spot abnormalities and illness.

There are biblical parallels to this practice. For example, Jesus monitors the vital signs of the churches that proclaim his name. But rather than checking blood pressures and heart rates, he looks at key indicators like love, faith, service and perseverance. It's no coincidence that Christ is called The Great Physician.

We read in the Gospels that Christ, with just a touch or even a word, healed lepers, the blind and the paralyzed. He even returned two men and a young child from death — all incredible miracles that helped confirm his prophetic role as Emmanuel — God with us. But Jesus' healing was much more than physical. It had (and still has) both eternal and spiritual significance. And in our 21st century culture that worships vitality and outward appearance, Christ sees our real condition like an X-ray of our souls.

What's the prescription for healing in our churches? Believers certainly can't help themselves. The simple answer is a simple faith in Him.

The New Testament's Gospel of Luke records that one desperate woman, who had for years been plagued by bleeding, believed in faith that her cure lay in touching Jesus' garments. And she was right. Luke also tells us about a Roman centurion who sought Jesus' healing for his deathly ill servant. Remarkably, this would-be enemy of Israel trusted the ability of Christ's word alone. Matthew 8:10 tells it this way:

When Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following Him, He said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel."

The body of believers called The Church was never promised a problem-free existence. Acts, Luke's follow-up narrative to his gospel, reveals the conflicts and persecution faced by early Christ-followers. And these struggles, both internal and external, continue to this day in one form or another — and will until Jesus' second coming. It's only then that we'll finally experience complete health in mind, body and soul. And it all starts with believing in Jesus' power, asking for his help and having faith to the end.

"Daughter, your faith has healed you," Jesus told the beleaguered woman who sought his touch of restoration. "Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

May His Church do the same.