One as He is One

This past Friday I helped out my good friends at Faith 2 Faith Ministries International with a regional youth event they run every fall called Overtime. This is an all-night event where kids from all different churches see a killer main event concert with a gospel presentation and then are let loose to do activities like rollerskating, bowling, sumo wrestling, junk food eating and much more mayhem all night long.

The event was exciting, yet draining at the same time. However the pain was worth it as we saw 48 teens (at least what was counted) who made decisions for Christ. Five of those decisions were for the first time!

This year one of the things I did was help out with the registration of the different groups. It was so exciting to see the number of churches involved this year! It reminded me of this scripture:

"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands."

-Revelation 7:9 (NIV, emphasis added)

Churches that participated this past Friday were from a variety of different denominations and all of them were crammed in one room. Lutheran kids were chillin' with Pentecostals, Congregationalists were cracking jokes with Charismatics, and all of them were praising the God they loved. Doctrinal differences of predestination, eschatology, and spiritual gifts didn't matter. The order of worship in their Sunday services didn't matter either. What mattered was Jesus being glorified!

That is all that will matter in the end. It doesn't matter what denomination we associate ourselves with because every denomination will be represented in the life to come! If we consider ourselves to be united with Christ, we should likewise be united in Him. This was one of the last prayers that Jesus prayed during His time on earth:

"My prayer is not for them alone. 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." -John 17:20-23

Oh Church, why can't we be like this more often?