Focused on Unity!
"Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit"!
“Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.”
I had a professor in seminary who said, “No matter how often the Bible speaks of the requirement of Christian unity, Christians feel not only free to attack other Christians, but obligated to point out all that is wrong with them.” This is an incredibly true and incredibly sad statement. Worse yet, it’s bad enough when Believers attack other Believers outside of our traditions (our denominations and individual, non-essential beliefs), but it’s a heartbreaking thing to watch or hear us tear down those in our own church family.
Yet, this is the human condition; or more honestly, it is one of the main problems born of our sin-natures. The Apostle James speaks to this much more clearly than I can.
“With the tongue, we bless our Lord and Father, and with it, we curse people who are made in God’s likeness. Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way.”
Friends, this church, this body of Believers, have been through really hard times over the last couple of years. The discussions around and process through the disaffiliation were painful for most of you. When people go through an upsetting time for such a lengthy period, wounds open and relationships can be tested. That is a natural result of pain and grieving. So, here is what I’m asking. Can we, not as a group, not as a church, but as individuals, commit as we move into 2024 to living something new? Can we commit to ourselves to put away pointing out the failures and shortcomings of others and build them up instead? Can you, can I, commit to “make every effort to keep [ourselves] united in the Spirit, binding [ourselves] together in peace”?
I have good news for you. We can. WE CAN. So, will we?
“Believers are never told to become one; we already are one and are expected to act like it” - Joni Eareckson Tada
Blessings,
Pastor Tony
