Connected Stories - Real Life

Billions of people living on a single planet, at first glance, that might be all we have in common. We think differently. We act differently. We eat different things. We value different things. We have different values, traditions, expectations, behaviors... and on the list goes.

Let's bring it down to a smaller scale.

Your hometown. We share similar patterns, similar concerns, similar beliefs, similar behavior, yet we are very different. How then are we to connect with one another?

Think of a computer motherboard. It is made up of hundreds of components - some similar, some very different, some large, some small, some almost invisible. It is made up of wires, transitors, fans, headers, connectors, sockets... hundreds of parts, only one objective!

There are not good parts and bad parts - there are only parts. There are many tasks, but only one objective. There are thousands of operations, but only one conclusion.

From Matthew 1, we see a list of very different people with very different lives - 28 generations of people. Yet we see the ultimate conclusion of their connectedness - the birth of Jesus. Their were adulterers, prostitutes, murderers, liars... and on it goes. God used their stories to bring us Jesus.

It is imperative that we understand we are connected to each other. Not by coincidence, not by default, but by the hand of God. We have a connection that goes beyond our own understanding. We are joined in a way that only the end of time will show exactly what the final picture looks like.

My encouragement to you - live a connected life! Purpose to find out how God is using you in the lives of others. When we realize the impact our existence has on others, we are inclined to live in a way that really matters - to focus on the eternal - to live beyond ourselves. Seek God, love others well.