Grabbing Water

Achieving and sustaining real, productive unity seems more and more like grabbing a handful of water these days. Sure, we see glimpses of people uniting for a cause or to accomplish a specific task or goal, but those events seem more like a bandage on a gaping wound than any real gain toward unity.

Instead, many countries lack a unified people and/or government, and so many companies and organizations struggle in a constant state of mismanagement and overwhelm. Broken marriages divide families and erode trust. Even churches crumble under the weight of selfish disagreements leading to division and strife.

Unity Takes Hard Work

Feelings often encourage one direction while unity requires another. The choice between self and others continually drives a wedge into any efforts toward unity.

Often, people attempt to avoid disagreement and struggle in an attempt to create unity, failing to realize that unity exists as individuals work through disagreement and struggle. In other words, we find unity as we persevere through differences in opinion and preference and instead work toward peace as we focus on a singular goal. Refusing to quit in the struggle usually leads to great gains in unity.

The Bible teaches on unity more than on Heaven or Hell perhaps because while Satan may not be able to steal our salvation, he can undermine our effectiveness through disunity. He knows that the church and God’s people need unity in order to accomplish the goal of spreading the Gospel. He also knows that unity flourishes as we obey the command to love God and others, and getting our focus on our own desires keeps us from taking the path of love that leads to unity.

Basic Truths About Unity

Let’s look at some basic truths about unity found in Scripture in an effort to realize the significance of the stability unity brings to God’s people, benefits that flow well beyond the body of Christ.

  1. Jesus prayed for unity. In fact, His last prayer before taking the road to the cross focused on unity among God’s people. He knew that Christians united under God could accomplish much for the Kingdom than individuals operating on individual agendas. (John 17)
  2. Unity is a command. A church filled with believers focused on leading Holy-Spirit led lives leads to a unified body bound by peace. Peace and unity together create a strand not easily broken. (Ephesians 4:3) (Ecclesiastes 4:12)
  3. Unity brings God’s blessings. Harmony among God’s people refreshes the body of Christ. The pleasant and precious nature of unity spreads and soothes even into areas where chaos reigns. (Psalm 133)
  4. Unity is a powerful witness. Simply put, unity and peace make Christianity — following Jesus — attractive to the world. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. (John 13)
  5. Unity meets deep, emotional needs. Encouragement. Comfort. Fellowship. Tenderness. Sympathy. Where these flow, unity and love exist in abundance. (Philippians 2:1-2)
  6. Unity comes through the spiritual growth of individuals. Encouragement and strong ties of love come through confidence in the Gospel. That confidence results when individuals focus on knowing Christ. (Colossians 2:2)
  7. God gives us what we need for unity. Through God’s gifts of patience and encouragement for the purpose of preferring others, individuals adopt the attitude of Christ as a lifestyle, and unity naturally results. (Romans 15:1-6)
  8. Unity is the strength (essence) of a healthy church. A unified church recognizes the need for every individual to do his/her part, each playing an integral role in the unified body of Christ. (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12; Galatians 3:28)
  9. Love results in unity. In fact, love exists as the most important piece of “clothing” a Christian wears because of its role in creating unity. (Colossians 3:14)
  10. We must guard unity. Guarding requires deliberate attention, which means intentionally focusing on the elements that create and sustain unity. (Ephesians 4:3; Philippians 2:1-5; 1 Peter 3:8-9)

Unity requires a lot of consistent hard work (Psalm 34). Doing nothing to promote unity means allowing it to evaporate and become all but invisible as the gaping wounds in individual lives, in families, in churches, and in countries fester and reach epidemic and infectious proportions.