The tired pastor boarded the plane. This flight meant time to relax and clear his crowded head and heart. He watched a young man board the plane. Talk about generational and cultural differences; the two of them were as opposite as night and day. “I sure hope his seat isn’t beside me,” he silently prayed.

Pleased that the young man walked past him, he sighed, “Thank you Lord.” Then the strangely dressed enthusiastic young person turned and came back to sit beside him. “Why me Lord” was the pastor’s disappointed prayer. “What will we talk about? We have nothing in common.” Then the young man asked, “Do you know Jesus?” A very embarrassed pastor answered, “Yes I do.” What a pleasant trip it became.

As Christians we are each a fraction of the whole family of God. We can be different, and yet have a common denominator in Jesus Christ. I have often found that some who didn’t “look like a Christian” (Whatever that looks like) have been wonderful examples of living like Jesus. I have also known people who went the extra mile to have a Christian appearance, but the inside was hollow. Jesus called them, “whitewashed tombstones.”

It’s a great freedom to not have to be a judge of others. Only God knows how wrong we usually are when we appraise another person’s faith by our standards. John Wesley had it right: “If your heart is as my heart, then give me your hand.” We can have a common faith in an uncommon World.

“All praise to the Father,
from whom all things come,
and all praise to Christ Jesus,
who is God’s only Son,
and all praise to the Spirit,
who makes us one.”