Our ten year old granddaughter had challenged me to a game of slapjack. She was beating me. Badly, I might add. The rules seemed to be different than I remembered. It s been a long time, but slapjack is pretty basic, I thought.
A few of our other grandchildren were outside playing with a ball, arguing. One of them had been accused of making up the rules. Before long, I heard, “You re cheating. No fair! The retort, I’m quitting!”
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On the playground of life, it’s good to learn how to give and take and share. It s also good to not give up playing together, taking your marbles and going home if things aren’t going your way.
Over time, we have created many faith denominations. We have learned to do things a little differently. It is worthwhile, however, to find a way to play together, be bridge builders.
Unity is good. That doesn’t mean our basic beliefs have to be compromised. Each one of us, and each group, has something unique to offer.
It’s kind of like potluck dinners. What a great invention. You take one food item, like a casserole, salad, or cake. Then you have your choice of all kinds of food for your dinner. Our plates would be much less balanced if we only ate from our own dishes, plus a possible deficiency in healthy nutrition by not covering a little from each food group.
We all have something to offer, and none of it is quite the same. Even if we start with the same recipe. No man is an island. We need each other so we can share our varied strengths. And unity is a big deal to God.
The foot of the cross is a place we can all meet. Our Father planned for all us kids to try and get along; it’s good to keep coming to the playground.
– – – written by Sally I. Kennedy
