We Are One by Rev. Ron Fox

Recently, my wife and I went on vacation to New York City. We both thought it was the best vacation we had been on in our entire married life. Why? In great part because of the people we met from all over the world. In seven days, we spoke to people from twenty-four different countries.

Over and over, my wife and I were aware of the fact that when people meet as individuals with no agendas, labels disappear. It didn’t matter what part of the world someone was from, their culture, what form of government their country practiced, or their religion. All that mattered was that we were connecting and enjoying each other’s company in the moment. Not even language barriers got in our way.

One morning, we had breakfast with a couple from Scotland, and we spoke about raising children, another time, we had a wide-ranging discussion with a couple from France, and my favorite was a discussion I had with a woman from the Dominican Republic about baseball.

So why am I writing about my vacation? Because never have I been as conscious of these words that earnest Holmes wrote, “God in me is unified with God in all. This one is now drawing into my life all love and fellowship. I am one with all people, with all things, with all life. As I listen in the silence, the voice of all humanity speaks to me and answers the love that I hold out to it.” 

For one week, these words became manifest to us as never before.

Years ago, in a Daily Guide, I wrote that “The only labels that are truly descriptive are brother and sister because we all emanate from the same source. Our differences are on the surface; deep within, at the center of our being, we are one---now and for all time.” Sometimes in a world where there is war, hunger, child trafficking, racial injustice, and a host of other issues that separate us, it’s easy to forget the basic truth of our oneness.

One way we can begin to create a world that works for everyone is to let go of labels and see one another as children of God, to live as Jesus commands us, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Wherever we live, whatever we believe, whatever our color, no matter who we love, underneath it all, we are the same. Just imagine what our world would be like if people all over the world took those words into their hearts and let them resonate in their actions. We would truly be creating heaven on earth.