Striving Toward Unity
Almost every successful company or group in history has shared something in common: they all had a unifying mission.
As Christians, we all share the same mission. We are unified in following Christ. We're saved by His blood (Romans 5:9) and we're all called to make disciples in His name (Matthew 28:19).
And yet, even among Christians, there is so much division and disunity.
In Psalm 133:1, Psalmist reflects on how good it is when the people of God live together in unity. There is something powerful that happens among Christians when we are unified.
Unity is not putting away our differences, because there would be no need to be unified if we were all the same. No, unity is coming together with our differences and striving to make much of Jesus together.
We can accomplish so much more for God’s kingdom together than we can alone. But, we must strive for unity to make that happen. Life's better when we work together.
Take a moment to consider the people in your life who might be different from you. What steps can you take today to build a greater sense of unity with those around you? Consider a few ways that you can make Jesus famous in your life through the relationships and communities that you’re in.
Let's Love People Well
You were created for community. When God designed humans, He made us with the intention of placing us within a loving family. Today, we call that family the Church.
God’s original intention was that we would exist within a family of other believers. He didn’t intend for us to exist in isolation or be separated from other people. Life was not meant to be lived alone.
Regardless of what your family experience was like, God intended for His family to be loving and caring. And it’s the qualities of God’s family that Paul is writing about in Romans 12. Paul says to be devoted to one another in love. That means that we are to walk alongside other people through the various seasons of life. We should never abandon people when life gets hard.
Paul also encourages us to honor others. Instead of seeking self-recognition, we should honor and encourage each other. Instead of pursuing what seems best for us, we should seek the good of other people first.
Devotion and honor ...