Unity According to Jesus vs. Unity According to the World

The other day I was sitting with two gentlemen. We were about to work on something together and, while we were waiting to get started, we talked. The conversation was very ordinary, and then we veered to the topic of politics. It was election week and we were a little hesitant to “go there.” One of the guys shared which candidate he voted for, then the other guy shared which candidate he voted for. They had not voted for the same person, but the conversation and environment still seemed ordinary and easy. I had not voted for the same person as either of these guys, but since the conversation was still calm I decided to throw out who I voted for. Then, nothing changed. The conversation continued in the ordinary and easy way it had been going. I don’t know how the other guys felt, but I spent the rest of the day in a bit of shock and awe at how we were able to converse and remain easy while discussing a potentially divisive topic. It was very refreshing and it made me want to learn more about unity.

Unity is definitely an important word for Christians to consider, define, pray about, and strive for in our time. “Complete unity” is what Jesus prayed for just before He went to the cross. Inspired by the Spirit of God, the Apostle Paul exhorts us to “pursue,” “strive for,” “make every effort for” unity. The Psalmist of the Old Testament sings about “how good and pleasing it is when God’s people live together in unity.” And we all know that our experience declares the same thing. (For example, to be united with your children is so good compared to the moment of disunity that happens as soon as you ask them where they want to go eat.)

Though unity is very important, I have discovered there are different kinds of unity being called for these days. The world and its leaders are calling for a unity that is very different from the unity that the kingdom of heaven and its King are calling for.

Here are some things we know about this unity that Jesus calls for:

1. Our differences are the starting place for unity.
The Greek word used in Jesus’ unity prayer is, “teleioō” which adds a connotation of being completed as one. The word Paul uses to describe unity in Christ is, “katartizō” and it has a connotation of mending, as if gluing the fractured pieces back together. Thinking differently, looking differently, and feeling differently are not roadblocks to unity—they are ingredients to unity. So, that is good news for Christians in America.

2. It is only possible and only required within the family of Christ.
Jesus’ prayer for unity was clearly for His disciples and those who would follow Jesus after them. Paul’s admonitions toward unity were clearly directed to the church of Jesus Christ. Christians are called to love everyone—but we are not called to be united with everyone. Christians are called to love our enemies, but the call to unify applies to those who are truly brothers or sisters in Christ. Remember: at one point Jesus said, “I have not come to bring peace to the world, but a sword.” Those who receive Christ’s Lordship and the empowerment of His indwelling Spirit can have the peace that He gives; but those who do not will be divided—and Christians should stay divided from them. Paul wrote about the importance of Christians not even eating with someone who claims to be in Christ, but is sexually immoral, greedy, an idolater, a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. This is a different kind of unity.

3. Prayer is vital for softening the divided hearts as well as empowering them to unite.
You can’t go wrong here. Jesus prayed for unity among His followers. Paul’s admonitions were also prayers that the churches would unite with each other and strive for unity in decisions and actions. They both knew the only way any of us will be able to mend deep divides and react well in moments of offense is to be filled with God’s Spirit. Prayer is the best way to be filled with God’s Spirit. (So, what are you waiting for? You can pray now before continuing to read.)

4. Unity will not be easy; it will require sacrifice, and it is not a” one and done” type of thing.
Jesus prayed His prayer for unity at a time when He Himself was wrestling to unite His will with His Father’s will. The intensity of that prayer time caused Him to sweat blood. Jesus knows firsthand how intense and stressful it can be to strive for unity. To gain unity with other believers is to gain the will of God, and it will take striving and straining. Paul uses the word strive in His calls for unity because He knows it will not happen without great determination and consistent effort.

The unity Jesus wants us to prioritize as believers is not “unity at all cost.” There is right and wrong, and there is good and evil. We are not to be united with the world, because that would cause us to be at war with God. But we do need to understand and live out “unity at the cross.”

When it comes to our brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to defer to one another in love. We need to listen and consider one another above ourselves. We need to create environments where we can speak freely without fear of harmful reactivity. If we can do this consistently and patiently, we can find the will of God. And once we find God’s will, we will find none of us are as right as we think we are. We will also find it much easier to unite, because the will of God is always good and beautiful, and always results in the flourishing of the good and beautiful.

By His grace and for His glory,

David

Lay It All Down

It was really nice to follow the anxious uncertainty of Tuesday night’s election with the peace of prayer and worship on Wednesday night. We sang all the anxiety, fear, offense and anger out of our souls with lyrics like, “I'm gonna see a victory for the battle belongs to You Lord,” “Yours is the Kingdom, Yours is the power, Yours is the glory forever, Amen,” and “All is for Your glory, all is for Your name, that in all things You may have the first place, that in all things You may have preeminence.”

We laid down the stress we’ve been carrying this year. We laid down our verbal defenses, and the argumentative ammunition we have stockpiled against those who are on the other side. We laid them down because Jesus came and asked us to. He asked us to disarm—to let go of all that we were holding onto with tightly closed fists. He asked us to do this so that He could fill our hands with His love. He wanted us to get rid of our anxiety and anger so that He could fill those places with His compassion and grace. He wanted us to put down our defenses so His love could come in and then go out from us to others. We went to the Father’s house and He both comforted us and reminded us of His command to love one another. 

This doesn’t mean we can’t disagree with others. There is definitely right and wrong. There is Biblical and non-Biblical. There is good fruit and bad fruit. There are good ideas and philosophies, and harmful ideas and philosophies. But above it all, Jesus loved us and gave His life for us when we were totally caught up in harmful ideas and philosophies. We were at enmity with God, we were controlled by the devil and his deceitful schemes, and we were prideful and self-absorbed, hurting God and others without even caring. While we were still sinners, God rescued us, and He is remaking us into His image. Now He commands us to love and give our lives to the people who are caught up in those same old things. 

In order to help us get the love of Jesus into our souls, we sang lyrics like, “You gave your life, I’ll surrender mine. So take this heart, won’t you purify. I’ll raise my voice, I can’t help but sing of the sweetness of your love and your gracious offering.” And then, to finish the night, we thought of the people who have opposed us or hurt us or offended us. We thought of our nation and leaders. We thought of the rich and poor, black, white, and brown. We thought of the people who don’t know Jesus that He is asking us to share His love with, and we sang this over them: “The Lord bless you and keep you, make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn His face towards you and give you peace. May His favor be upon you and a thousand generations, and your family and your children and their children, and their children. Amen!”

I pray those same words over all of the Living Streams family. We need each other so desperately during this time. Our world needs for us to be united in Christ’s love and armed with His compassion and grace, and the truth that sets people free forevermore.

Please stay connected to Jesus, the True Vine, so we all can bear much good fruit in this time of great need. 

David

God's Dream

When our eyes have been blinded by the searing pain of deadly shootings, the heavy burden of poverty's ramifications, and the crippling curse that sin has brought upon humanity—we need a vision. 

Like Martin Luther King Jr. said at a dark, tumultuous time in our nation’s history: 

“We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop…and I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land….'mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.'”

Or when Matisyahu sings over our world full of war and hate violence: 

"Sometimes in my tears I drown, 
But I never let it get me down
So when negativity surrounds
I know some day it'll all turn around
Because
All my life I've been waiting for
I've been praying for
For the people to say
That we don't wanna fight no more
They'll be no more wars
And our children will play"

Like when Paul the Apostle writes to a painfully persecuted minority: 

“God chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight… With all wisdom and understanding he made known to us the mystery of his will…to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.”

And like when my old friend Zach Vestney sang to hearts worn down by the  ceaseless, gnawing of sin's curse: 

“We will soon be with Him forevermore,
where we can walk with Him on that crystal shore.
And talk with all the of saints of old.
And bow before the mighty throne of God."

One day we are going to see the full revelation of God’s dream. We get glimpses here and there. Prophets remind us from time to time. And the Scriptures stand firm, like a soldier pointing the way to that perfect day when our faith becomes sight. 

Onward Christian soldiers. Keep your eyes on the prize.

This Sunday we will start a series on Ephesians and we'll take a look at God’s dream.
 
David