I didn’t attend her memorial service because of the coronavirus regulations that limited the number of visitors to thirty people. But as I watched online, I thought of those around the world who were also giving thanks for what a vibrant, loving, and funny person Pamela was—including her family members in Malawi, where she was buried. 

She was one of many in our church in North London who came from a different country, like me, and whom I counted as a sister in Christ. After all, God’s family transcends associations of tribe, race, and other divisions because we have the same heavenly Father. In Christ, God brings us together. 

The apostle Paul stressed our family connections when he wrote to the church at Ephesus. He was concerned over divisions between Jewish and gentile believers, saying, “You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:19–20). Paul knew that God’s people are joined together as a family, “built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (v. 22). 

No matter our differences, believers in Jesus can look to God to help us unite with each other. Through His Spirit, He’ll not only smooth over our idiosyncrasies but will help us work out our deepest differences. What unites us—God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is more than what divides us. 

Amy Boucher Pye, Our Daily Bread author

Our Daily Bread Ministries in Indonesia is supported by the freewill offering of individuals in Indonesia, who through their gifts enable us to continue to bring the life-changing wisdom of the Bible to many here. We are not funded by any church or organisation.

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