Unity is such an interesting word. When we think unity we often think of having the same goals. We think of purpose and having the same interests in mind. But I have to ask, what about the manner in which we achieve these purposes? What about the direction we take to accomplish our missions or goals?Jesus prayed for us today, those in His church, to be united. The concept of unity is displayed by the church in the NT book of Acts. It says that they were all of "one mind" (1:14; 2:46; 4:24; 15:25) which indicates that they were in agreement or unity as to how they were going to fulfill the mission they had recently been given.
Why is there so much division in His churches today? Why is there so much in-fighting? Why are so many church leaders, elders, pastors, ministers, deacons, etc. not functioning in unity? If Christ is the head of the church, and the elders are the authority that is put in place by God are to teach this church, shouldn't we strive to find unity with them? Can we trust that God has put them in place and honor that? Can we give them the benefit of the doubt? Can we trust that they have the best interests of the body of Christ in mind?
I have served as a pastor, youth pastor, volunteer and various other roles in several different churches. From my experience the concept of unity can be damaged both by the leaders and the followers. I understand that we are all human and that we can all make mistakes. But that does not mean that we compromise unity.
So, what does unity look like? If our goal is the same then unity would be displayed in the agreement of the method to accomplish the goal. Someone explained it to me like this: If a group had a goal to build a road through a jungle they could have everything organized with tree-cutter-downers, stump pullers, levelers, foundation builders, and pavers. Well organized does not mean that unity is happening. If there is no direction, someone casting the vision, the direction, then the group could build and build on the road and never get to its goal. The group clearing trees may think, we should turn left while the levelers want to go right. The stump pullers may feel like they are being manipulated because they can only pull the stumps that the cutters leave for them. The pavers are left to clean up all the mistakes left behind those who have gone ahead of them and the road needs to look perfect when they are done (un-due pressure?).
Ephesians 4:3 tells us to make every effort to make peace and be in unity. How often have you been given a chance to make peace and promote unity and you chose division instead? This does not mean that we all need to be push-overs and concur with any idea that is presented, but if a decision is made that we may not fully agree with can we accept it, or do we have to make sure everyone in the congregation knows how much we disagree, especially the leaders?
Romans 15:5 asks for a blessing of unity from the God of endurance. I love that wording. Unity takes endurance. It takes commitment. When we look at the over-all picture of the church we see the same goals in all the members, even from one church to the next, we all want to 'know God and make Him known' but we cannot agree on the action plan. We cannot agree on the way we accomplish it. That diminishes to even lower disagreements to the point a church will split because of some simple "straw" that finally breaks them. It takes endurance to find unity and offering grace to those we may disagree with.
We need to recognize and admit that the lack of unity halters our maturity. We expect others to act spiritually mature while we throw fits behind their back. That displays a lack of maturity. Ephesians 4:11 and following says, "...these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ."
Unity leads to maturity. The next time you want to show your spiritual maturity, strive for unity instead of division. If you tend to talk more about "shaking the dust from your feet" and getting away from those who are "holding you back" then you should consider your maturity. Just as we would scold a child for running from the things they don't like or don't agree with we ought to scold ourselves for choosing the easy way out.
Division is sometimes necessary but only in the sense of restoration. If restoration is not the goal of division then that division should be re-examined. Would you rather cut off all your hair or tend to it and style it? Would you simply cut off your hands if you are having trouble with them? If your feet hurt after a long day do you just cut them off below the knees? We can understand the ridiculousness of these comparisons, but the church is directly compared to the body of Christ. How do we take care of our own body? When part of it is hurting or not working the way it should it affects the whole body. So we focus on it until it gets back to normal. We don't just cut it off or sever all communications with it. But when it comes to the church, how do we handle these issues?
Even in regard to "sin in the camp" we need to have the mind of unity. Division should only happen with restoration in mind. Attempt to restore the brother. Again, this should come from the spiritually mature person who has the mind of unity (Gal. 6:1). It's all about unity. Do we have the same goals? Do we have the best interests of the church in mind or are we oppressing out of selfish motivation? Are we spiritually mature?
"Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it." -1 Peter 3:8-9
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