Bonded by Blood:  By Blake Bradley & Justin McGowan

This is the story of two men. Two men who came together during a day of unrest in America. The tragedy in Ferguson, Missouri was being aired live all over the country. People were feeling so many emotions; anger, confusion, and most prevalent....FEAR! My gym partner Justin and I were in the locker room together watching the television as the story played out. The media was fueling this tragedy in full effect. The other men in the locker room had varying emotions. Some were quiet while others were outraged. Justin and I sat quietly as we soaked in the events . Justin and I have been social friends and gym partners for several years but nothing could have prepared me for what happened next...during a horrible time in America a social friend became a brother!

"Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend" Proverbs 27:17Justin reached out a hand and I took it. We had a conversation right there in the locker room that I will never forget. We spoke boldly that day and made this pact; "No matter what skin type we have, be it brown, black, white, yellow or whatever color you pick, if we believe in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, then we serve the same heavenly father. Peel away all the layers and the blood that runs through your veins is the same that run through mine!" The Lord we serve does not see skin types, He sees us as His children. We both agreed right then in that small gym locker room that we are definitely bonded by the blood of our Lord. The world will always have its problems and as long as we live in sin which is of the world, then society will always have its problems. The truth will always remain though that no matter what skin color we have, if we believe in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ then we all serve the same Daddy! 

Justin and I have discussed some of the factors in America today and we have picked a few to speak about. We put them into two categories for this discussion:

Micros and Macros of Social Relationships

The Micros are what we consider the following types of issues: Intellectual stereotypes, media fueled press,  ideologies, which include family history traits and teachings and most importantly....FEAR! Fear breads distraction and can create false idols in someone's life. This same fear creates stereotypes in individuals and they use it to make assumptions about people before ever meeting them. Many of these assumptions could be wrong and many times they are. It's just like the old saying...."never judge a book by its cover". In the micro level, we feel that it is the part of us that understands ourselves, our belief system and how we interact with others. What was your upbringing like? What type of household were you raised in? All of these factors can surely play a role in who you are and what you believe in. Even if your teachings were unfavorable, you are not destined to that same type of life. I remember a lesson from my father. He said that 3/3 makes a whole. We get 1/3 from our father, 1/3 from our mother and that last 1/3 is what we make it! That's our own individual piece of the pie in our genetic make up. 

Will you choose to feed into Fear? Will you be swayed by negative media fuel and stereotypes? We pray that you won't! We pray that you approach each new situation with the love of Christ. Gods Word can change lives and even heal and repair the most hardened heart! His Word is alive and it can grow in all of us if we accept it.  

1 Peter 1:22 "Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit to unfeigned love of the brothers, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently."

The Macros - refer to the social relationships that include: community, government, family and society in general. How do you determine family? Is it the ones who come from your household or do you also consider others who God puts in your path? I am a firm believer that God does put people in our path throughout our lifetime to assist us in our journey. I have seen it first hand in my life many times. I began a kids mentorship program a few years ago. I spend many of my free weekends spending time with kids who are experiencing problems in their lives. I received a call from one of them last night. He told me that several of his school friends called him and said..."I thought your dad was never around"? He said he's not...they said "well we saw you with him at the baseball game last weekend and you guys were having a blast laughing". That young man was with me and he was crying from tears of joy telling me this story. I do not tell this story to brag on myself because I do not do half of what the Lord asks of me. I fail in so many areas of life. I tell this story because we have the power through Christ to be that bridge for people! Many have filled that role in my life as well. Age, race and gender do not matter! We have to open our eyes to who's around us and stop thinking about ourselves and our needs for a change. Nothing great has every come out of focusing on "ME". That thinking isolates ourselves from growing, understanding the feelings and our views of others, and most importantly Loving one another. Many people that hear the word Love, automatically think it's a romantic term, but Love encompasses everything. You will never feel more fulfilled in your life like you do when you show a true loving spirit towards another human being. Be mindful of where other people are coming from and embrace the realization that not everyone has been nurtured in the same environment with the same opportunities in life. We all have very different backgrounds and we can't put people into categories of any kind. Spend the time getting to know people and we will find value in each of them.  

John 13:34-35

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."

We are two men...different...yet the same...and Bonded by the Blood

Thank you,  Blake and Justin

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Blake Bradley & Justin McGowan