Common Ground

01 Jul Common Ground

Read John 4:1-14
Thought for the Day: Faith in Jesus gives me common ground!

Few fictional friendships measure up to the deep bond between Gimli the Dwarf and Legolas the Elf in The Lord of the Rings. But what ended as one of the all-time great bromances in literature started off on much shakier terms. Over the ages in Middle Earth, dwarves and elves had grown to deeply distrust and dislike each other, with each side blaming the other. But despite this ancient feud, Gimli and Legolas found themselves united with a common goal: to support and protect Frodo on his way to destroying the evil ring of power in Mt. Doom. So, they set aside previous divisions and quickly learned that they had much more in common than they had ever thought. In fact, by uniting on common ground, they developed a deep and lasting friendship!

In the First Century, Jews and Samaritans had even more mistrust for each other than elves and dwarves in Middle Earth. But, Jesus didn’t come to earth to deepen divisions. He didn’t simply come for the Jewish people. Instead, He came on a mission of reconciliation for all. So, it is no shock that He sat down at a well and did the unthinkable: Jesus broke societal norms and built a bridge with a Samaritan woman. When the woman He had struck up a conversation with questioned why Jesus was even speaking to her in the first place, He made it clear: Jesus was there to talk about what matters (a relationship with God) rather than what doesn’t matter (everything else that we let separate us).

Just as Jesus spoke with a Samaritan, we are called to build bridges with those who are different from us. The divisions in society today are not something new. Humans have found themselves at odds on ‘sides’ with various ‘labels’ for as long as civilization has been around. As Christians, we are not called to further partisan divides or wade into arguments on social media. Instead, we can find common ground and build relationships like Jesus!

In Christ,
Pastors Stan and David