Unity of Believers
God intends for us, as believers, to live in unity with each other.(Psalm 133:1) There are no exceptions. Not only is it good and pleasant, as the psalmist tells us, it is essential to Christian growth and to our witness to others. We must not allow anything to bring disunity into the body of Christ.
Take some time to read Jesus' prayer in John 17. He was praying just before going to the cross to accomplish the work of salvation. He was praying for Himself and for the disciples. In fact, He prayed for all who would ever trust in Him. One of the main requests in His prayer was for us all to be one, as He and the Father are one. Isn't that amazing? The Father, Son, and Spirit have existed in perfect unity for eternity. The only disruption was when Jesus volunteered to take all of the sins of humanity upon Him on the cross. Since God can't look on sin, the Father turned His face away from the Son, but that was only temporary, until the full sin debt was paid. Then, the fellowship and unity were restored forever.
Jesus made it clear that unity of believers was one of the main ways that God would show the truth to the world. People will know we are different and be drawn to know Christ. We all crave unity. We hate conflict, if we are a sane, healthy person. It is a desire planted in us by God. However, sometimes, we don't pursue it, because of immaturity or pride. We just try to ignore problems, or we think we should wait for the other person to make up with us. That is never the case. Whenever we know that we have a broken relationship with another believer, it is up to us to go and to make every effort to restore the unity of the Spirit in the bond of love.
Please, prayerfully consider what the Lord would have you to do, if there is any lack of unity in your life. Do it, and your life will be much better and more pleasant. It will please the Lord and be a good witness to others.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 136-139.
Take some time to read Jesus' prayer in John 17. He was praying just before going to the cross to accomplish the work of salvation. He was praying for Himself and for the disciples. In fact, He prayed for all who would ever trust in Him. One of the main requests in His prayer was for us all to be one, as He and the Father are one. Isn't that amazing? The Father, Son, and Spirit have existed in perfect unity for eternity. The only disruption was when Jesus volunteered to take all of the sins of humanity upon Him on the cross. Since God can't look on sin, the Father turned His face away from the Son, but that was only temporary, until the full sin debt was paid. Then, the fellowship and unity were restored forever.
Jesus made it clear that unity of believers was one of the main ways that God would show the truth to the world. People will know we are different and be drawn to know Christ. We all crave unity. We hate conflict, if we are a sane, healthy person. It is a desire planted in us by God. However, sometimes, we don't pursue it, because of immaturity or pride. We just try to ignore problems, or we think we should wait for the other person to make up with us. That is never the case. Whenever we know that we have a broken relationship with another believer, it is up to us to go and to make every effort to restore the unity of the Spirit in the bond of love.
Please, prayerfully consider what the Lord would have you to do, if there is any lack of unity in your life. Do it, and your life will be much better and more pleasant. It will please the Lord and be a good witness to others.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 136-139.