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We live in an age of rampant individualism. Not even the Church has been free of its influence, reducing the grand work of God’s salvation for all creation to the private spirituality of individuals where Jesus becomes first and foremost a “personal Lord and Saviour”. Now more than ever we need to die to self so that we can resurrect through Him as one- His Body, His Church.
Take time to honestly and prayerfully reflect on the follow Scriptures & questions:
Psalm 133:
How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down on the collar of his robe.
It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.
How is unity good & pleasant? If it is so desirable, why do we expend so much time and energy towards selfish ends?
John 17:20-23:
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
For whose sake is this unity important? Why? What is at stake if we do not work with the Spirit towards this unity?
Romans 12:1-5:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Why is unity essential to service and worship of God? How can we nurture humility in our lives & in each other?
Take time to prayerfully reflect on these questions. Feel free to share your thoughts & answer in the comment section. Peace & all good.
Thanks for this.
I’ve been thinking about the second passage recently, especially in the run-up to a local event we had where churches from all denominations were represented. The event was very successful; more importantly the responses have paved the way for further coordinated ecumenical action in a number of different spheres. Despite highly professional worship and a wonderful message from Tony Campolo, a few people I’ve spoken to said the best bonding experience between churches was the hard work setting up and clearing away! I liked that.
Complete unity, according to the John passage results in the world knowing that the Father sent Jesus and loves them. That makes me wonder – is church unity a more powerful witness than any evangelistic endeavour? I certainly don’t think we should cease evangelism, but perhaps in our haste to make our own plans to bring others into God’s kingdom, we’ve busied ourselves to the point of ignoring His?
Also, what does “complete unity” mean? Presumably it means more than just tolerating each others’ idiosyncrasies, rather submitting to each other. I want to be able to enjoy the diverse means through which God brings different people to deeper relationship with Him, and I want other parts of Christ’s body to be a correcting balance on my life, knowing the human propensity to clasp hold of one aspect of God’s truth which seems particularly vital to us but in doing so create an imbalance with other aspects.
But even in this last aspect I’m aware that the current tendency is towards individualism, and I mustn’t want unity for what it will do for my individual relationship with and understanding of God, but because it is God’s purpose for His Church. A very difficult mindshift.
Excellent & honest reflections, Tim. Thanks for you sharing. I think you are very right about unity being important in light of evangelistic endeavours. The former gives credibility and authority to the later.
Peace,
Jamie
It is like a precious oil because it’s so very rare. Like a crafted diamond or an artist’s great masterpiece, it is precious because it requires sacrifice and skill. Very few are up for that kind of a challenge.
It seems there’s a new form of “Jesus and Me” showing up. That phrase used to conjure images of little old ladies at a Baptist church who had no idea of what living as PART of a church really meant. Or ornery old bas***ds who had accepted Jesus in their hearts years ago and had done precious little since.
Now it seems there’s an element of “Jesus and Me” that is, for lack of a better phrase, “Too Cool For School.” I have a lot of respect for her, but Anne Rice comes to mind as an example. For all intents and purposes, she is a Christian. She believes the truth of Christ’s incarnation, death and resurrection. But she has decided to reject Christianity, because there are too many bigots with that title. She’s gone rogue.
There seem to be more and more “rogue” Christians who are uncomfortable with the entirety of what it means to live as a Christian: To live in true community. To live in communion. It’s difficult and frustrating to do so, but so worth it. If you want to go it alone, well, the World is already pretty good at that. Have fun.
I think Tim has a very valid and intriguing point. Perhaps it has something to do with just how incredibly odd true humility looks to the world. It’s fascinating to watch, and very inviting. To live in unity is to be an invitation to something breathtakingly beautiful. Something precious.
(And, also, speaking as an Aaron with an authentic beard, I’m pretty sure it would feel awesome to have some oil poured on it.)
Excellent reflections, Aaron. And I think your reference to Anne Rice is perfect. Thanks.
Oh, and may your beard be oiled!
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