As I invited my mind and heart to engage with the concept of “common ground,” I envisioned a picture of a sea filled with islands. Each island was inhabited by a small, homogeneous group of people, except for the very center island, which was bare. It was that most central island that represented the common ground, while the surrounding islands of people are where you and I resided.
Before I continue, it is important to acknowledge that I found myself on the island of white, able-bodied, heterosexual, middle-class females, who had completed higher education and experienced minimal trauma throughout their lives.
The individual islands provided a sense of safety and camaraderie for the residents, where cultures and traditions were developed with little conflict, and peoples’ thoughts and beliefs were rarely challenged. And yet, the individuals who remained on their islands appeared to have a stunted emotional and spiritual growth, as they were limited to their own experiences mirrored again and again by those they lived with.
As I scanned the sea, filled with countless islands that separated these groups of people, it became apparent that the common ground island was set apart. It was intended for individuals to venture to, for the opportunity to experience new ideas and an expansion of culture as they engaged with people from the other islands. This was a space where healing, growth, development, and deep beauty could happen.
I subsequently noticed that not every unique island had the same access to the center island. It would certainly require courage for any one person to leave the safety of their own island to travel to this new territory, but some certainly had a much further and more treacherous distance to travel than others.
As a person who holds significant privilege within the part of the world that I live, I find that engaging in a conversation about finding commonalities with those around me is actually not too difficult. Though it does require intentionality and sometimes even courage to set aside my potentially contrasting opinions in order to partner with someone else’s story; I still am often engaging in that story from a place of subtle (or not so subtle) power, that can reduce the risk of vulnerability and allow me to quickly retreat back to my own story whenever I need to.
I have a fairly easy route to reach the common ground island.
My heart longs for all people to have easy access to that island too-so that we can join in our shared experiences of emotion, loss, accomplishment, and all the quirky things that make us human. But in order for that celebration and healing to take place, we must first take note of the island we are coming from, and scan our neighboring islands to ensure that those inhabitants have a means to travel too. Do we have a spare oar to offer, a map to share, or room in our boat? Could the pursuit of shared humanity begin to form even on the journey to the center island?
This metaphor in my mind culminated with what appeared to be a festival taking place on the island of common ground, attended by people of all kinds. They gathered around a flag that represented their claim on this new territory of togetherness and diversity. And the flag was not a new emblem made out of a single piece of cloth, but rather a quilt--comprised of a small piece of each flag from the individual islands. In coming together to share in the common humanness of one another, the people were not lost to a morphed sense of one, but were celebrated in the unique beauty of their diversities.
So what about our actual, island-free existence? With commingled workspaces, homelife, and grocery store trips? I imagine that God longs for his children to celebrate their unique identities and to also do the work to reach spaces of common ground, where he brings new healing. What characteristics define your safe space, and what does your journey toward common ground look like? Are you partnering with those that are also taking that journey, to help each other reach it together?
The author of Ephesians reminds us that we are each uniquely created by a loving God, and in our uniqueness we are united in the experience of all being saved by His grace at the Cross. And this is the foundation of the Island of Common Ground: that all humans are loved by God and freed by His salvation and redemption work.
Ephesians 2:10-22
10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
11 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.
17 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. 18 Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.
About the Author
Britni is a quiet but fearless spirit who is earnestly seeking the beauty of the redemption that Jesus has personally determined for her life. Committed to the truth that listening breeds understanding and understanding results in compassion, she clings to the power of life’s stories. She has embarked on the venture of discovering her own story and lending an ear to the stories lived out in others and savors the trace of Jesus that is woven throughout them all. Currently, that journey has landed her in a balancing act between the role of wife, momma, and a mental health Care Coordinator.