Living in Unity

What the Bible says about Unity- part 2

Two employees were chatting. “The boss wants a meeting today at 4:30.” “Why does he always have to have them on Friday at 4:30?” “People tend to agree with him!”

Now that is not the unity Jesus was looking for and commanded when it says, “That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:21)

For Christians, as a part of Christ’s church, unity is not something to attain but something to maintain. God made us one. The bible says if we are Christians we are one nation, race, and priesthood.

“But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9)
We do not try to be one. We are not trying to just get along, searching for some common ground of entertainment or performance. God has made us one by His Spirit. He says it is like we are all parts of the same human body.
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:4)

The German philosopher Schopenhauer compared the human race to a bunch of porcupines huddling together on a cold winter’s night. He said, “The colder it gets outside, the more we huddle together for warmth; but the closer we get to one another, the more we hurt one another with our sharp quills. And in the lonely night of earth’s winter eventually we begin to drift apart and wander out on our own and freeze to death in our loneliness.” Christ has given us an alternative—to forgive each other for the pokes we receive. That allows us to stay together and stay warm. Some Christians would rather freeze to death then to forgive other Christians and do what Christ wants, which is to be” diligent to preserve the unity of His Spirit...”

Now I am not saying forget doctrine and try to live in spiritual harmony with people who do believe in Jesus Christ. You see, unity is a matter of heart, of attitudes, of intention. Truth is a matter of Doctrine. Usually it is a matter of heart issues. Look at what Paul begged the church in Philippi for.
“make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;
4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:2)

Can you see it? What destroys it? Selfishness, rejection independence, refusal to follow after God’s spirit. What maintains it? Harmony, serving, acceptance, agreement with God’s sprite. In his moving book, Miracle on the River Kwai, Ernest Gordon tells his story of life as a Japanese prisoner of war among the men building the infamous Burma Railway. They endured horrific conditions with what seemed to be no hope or purpose to life.

A few Christians, however, formed Bible study groups, which began to bring about amazing transformations within the camps. POWs who had stolen and cheated from one another became men who cared for and gave their lives for their friends. Those death camps became a place of hope and life because God's Word was at work. See, unity does great things in our life. So do it, stay in unity with the people in your life!