Let me finish up on the idea of unity today with the idea that of difference.
The amazing thing when it comes to unity is that the Bible does encourage a blending despite our differences. We are encouraged to work together and there is no emphasis on the differences, though some exist, but the focus is on the harmonizing of the individuals into a whole group.
Look at Galatians 3:26-29 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. So what we see is that unity needs to happen regardless of someone’s background, social status, gender, or past sins because we are all a part of the body of Christ.
As we finish a week of talking about unity, let us ask some questions and think about some things in an honest manor ( if you have not read the other posts I would suggest going back and reading them). Have you seen areas of your life where you do not have unity? Maybe today you have seen that you lack love and that is why you are lacking unity in some area of life. Maybe you have seen some areas that you need to confess and change. I pray that unity is a focal point for all of us in our personal lives and in the lives of the churches we attend. The devil will do what he can to bring about disunity because he knows the truth of what Jesus said in Mark 3:25 – If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. This is true in marriages, relationships, and churches – if we want to stand and stand strong we need to be focused on what each one of us can personally do in to insure unity – not on what someone else can do. It is about us as individuals and Christ working in us.
Are you fighting for unity in your family, in other relationships, in your churches? What are your thoughts?
You nailed it Jim. And I am leaving convicted. I need to restore a relationship today.
I think you’re right – disunity is a chief goal of the enemy. He will do whatever he can to put up a barrier between us and God, and us and other people. Need to remember that today. Thanks!
We’ve talked about this a lot in our church lately. We started out as a small group, before i came even, and as we’ve grown, we’ve had to adjust to very different groups of people. One of the reasons we held off on the three types of small groups, and just went with simple conversation groups to start, was to leave some time to build unity and trust among the conversation.
Great post Jim!