Finding Tribe

“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!””

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭7‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The kingdom is made up of many nations, tribes, peoples and many languages. I believe that within this vast multi-faceted expression of believers that we get a glimpse of the manifold image of God of which it is our privilege and God’s design to make this known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 3:10).

I believe that every community has a beautiful piece or aspect of God’s nature that He uses to display Himself to the world. Look at the Moravians and their devotion to bring glory to the Lamb. So many examples like this of a people going all out for God and it looking a certain way that doesn’t look like others, but is worthy to be honored and gives something to the honoring one. The concept of “you become what you behold” highlights that when we honor, we open up the ability to receive from that which we honor. (2 Corinthians 3:18) I wasn’t always the best steward of my yard, but my step-dad, Matt Murray (rest in peace) was so good at it and I honored that. I now have grown in that a great deal and tie much of this to my honor of someone who shined a virtue that I honored and wanted. I believe in the church today, there is more to be desired within the kingdom around us that we can start to access through honor.

In John 17, Jesus prays for us all, all believers “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”

‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭21‬-‭23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The Body of Christ is designed to be unified. God is bringing unity to the Body of Christ in its multi-faceted nature – that we would be one as the trinity is one (together, one accord, unified) and this it says is how we are made perfect and that the world knows that the Father sent Jesus! Our unity is so powerful! This is how God intended it to be (returning to Ephesians 3:10).

So, I believe that now is a time of learning to honor other “tribes” or groups of people, maybe even in this process of learning to honor is to actually learn other languages (actual languages but also verbiage and ways of speaking that other groups of people use), familiarizing ourselves with new tribes (not necessarily at the cost of leaving your own or maybe it is, all depends on what He is doing with you) so that we might see that God isn’t just about us and our tribe, He is about all of us and our tribes.

What does this look like? Well above all else it looks like obedience. No One wants unity in the Body more than the Head. Jesus is leading His Body into unity, so, if anything, this word is exhorting people to let Him lead you into the unknown place where things don’t always line up with your preferences, your preferred ways of doing things. I remember going back to church in early college after running from God and the music didn’t quite line up with what I liked or preferred and I complained to God and He said “I didn’t bring you here for the music, I brought you here for Me.” So, what does it look like? It looks like whatever He is telling you to do. My prescriptions won’t do. I would just say to be willing to look outside of your familiar environment. Be willing to get a little uncomfortable if that is where He is calling you to go. Let God lead you.

God wants us to get this. And what is this, it is God. All of Him. He wants His people to see all of Him often found hidden to our normal sight, in His multi-faceted people. Returning to Revelation 7:9-10 describes every tribe and every tongue. Every.

That concept can seem to fly in the face of the many ways that Christians in the Body of Christ have been encouraged to “find your tribe” or that group of people who you can do life with. Do I agree with this? Yea, I do. I think community is a creation that God not only creates, but IS within the Trinity. Community communicates God’s nature. Community is vital to our walk as believers. This is where we raise up strong people in the context of strong families and friends who love one another and build each other up, look out for each other … all that!

That said, to provide a little tension to this, the “find your tribe” encouragement cannot be an end in itself. Don’t stop there. I think many have thought of community as the arrival piece and have camped out there longer than needed. The thought of “this is good enough” comes to mind. And yet, community in itself isn’t a full expression of the kingdom. Just as one state doesn’t express the vast fullness of the United States of America. If we don’t start to learn how to honor others from other tribes, we can get stuck in tribalism, which actually works against the kingdom. This is also something that is very prevalent today. Jesus took this head on in Luke 10:29-37 when He was asked a question …

“And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus answered him with a story about a Hebrew man, one that belonged to their tribe (the people He was talking to) who was robbed, beaten and stripped and left on the side of the rode. People from his “tribe” came by and walked by, even those that you would most think would stop to help and then finally a Samaritan comes by, a man that wasn’t only not from his tribe but also from a group that was seen as less than, was ridiculed by the man’s tribe and had right in some ways to treat the man poorly. That man is the one who helped the injured Hebrew. (I highly recommend the movie “Testament” on The Chosen app. It is a present day depiction of Luke compiling the stories of Jesus for his gospel and they illustrate 4-5 parables in the movie. They do the Good Samaritan as well as parable of the talents and others in such a powerful way.)

Jesus was displaying that the kingdom of God is not limited to our tribe’s norms and ways of living life and that our tribe truly, in the kingdom, should reflect how we are to treat one another on the basis of love, on the basis of dignity, and covering each other where there is need. Providing for each other’s needs. This aspect of ministry, which means to serve or meeting needs. That reflects the ways that we operate as the body of Christ and that supersedes the ways of operating within our tribe. In the same way, that Jesus was asked, who is my neighbor?, Jesus returns the question asking, so who was the neighbor in this case? All of those listening replied that the man who helped him was his neighbor. And then Jesus said “go and do likewise”

Jesus is saying, your tribe is not the kingdom or put another way the kingdom is not your tribe. And your true tribe, your people is brought together differently, through Christ. It’s really not all about you. Returning to Revelations 7: “Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” “And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Revelation‬ ‭7‬:‭13-14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

These are the ones who came out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the lamb. In the kingdom, our identity is in Christ. We all come to Jesus with our stuff, and he redeems it and makes us reflections of his glory, and all of that glory goes to Him in the process.

Many of us may not get the opportunities that others have to interact with a great deal of people from different backgrounds. That said, if you look for opportunities you will find them! Even within the grip of people you find yourself now, there will be differences of opinion, backgrounds, and perspectives. Learning to honor the differences amongst your own circles is a great way to build your ability to honor those who don’t look like you or sound like you.

Pray that God would give you more and more opportunity to learn from others outside of your mold, and I believe you will grow in ways that you have never imagined in the process. God is glorifying Himself in the earth and He is using His Body to do it. Let us have yielded hearts to lean into this move of the Spirit, and this revival of oneness in the Body of Christ!