As I write this, my home state is in an uproar about a recent shooting at a night club, followed by widespread demonstrations of support for “diversity,” and the vandalism of a well-known Christian ministry for their supposed hate of non-traditional identities. The whole event is tragic on many levels, including the hurling of five innocent people into eternity, but it’s also yet another evidence of the ironic disunity of our world.

It’s ironic, because in the fight for unity, we’ve somehow become more disunified. It’s as if after hundreds of years history marking epic fail after epic fail of Marxism, we haven’t learned our lesson. At the core, the reason is because we’ve got the problem wrong. And when you have the wrong problem, you’ll end up with the wrong solution.

The gospel levels the playing field. No longer are we black and white, male and female, Hispanic or Asian or African. We’re all equally sinners before a holy God, in the same predicament, in need of the same gospel. Only finding our new identity in Christ will bring the unity this world craves. 

If you’re watching the news this season, it’s easy to grow frustrated. My encouragement (and I’ve definitely had to check my own heart in this area) is to see the world through gospel eyes. These people — whether they’re marked by the news as oppressors or oppressed, bad guys or good guys — are all equally lost and in need of Christ. My frustration softens when I recognize that same need in my own heart, and then begin to pray for those around me.