"If only my family would get along!"
How many times have we all said that? Nothing beats having a family that gets along, living in harmony and love with each other.
Guess what? God feels the same way about his family - the Church.
Even some of the earliest churches were embroiled in conflict, division and strife. That's why there are so many passages in the New Testament about Christians learning to live in unity with their church families and commands for us to be kind and tender toward each other, forgiving each other as God has forgiven us. But unity and harmony don't come naturally. We all have a selfish side that wants to win (or be right) more than compromise.
Unity in a congregation comes at a great cost. Each of us has to push aside our personal preferences, desires and expectations to serve one another for the common good of the whole church. That's hard to do, especially when you are right, and others are wrong. The reality is that there are ways in which everybody wins.
There are three components to a "practical theology" of unity.
■ First is the priority of unity. God loves unity. God passionately desires his family members to genuinely love each other - despite all our faults and weaknesses - and to live in harmony the same way the Trinity lives in relationship. Jesus said that if we get along with each other, our unity will prove to the world that God really sent him. A congregation's unity is the primary witness to an unbelieving world that the Gospel is true. Why? Because it's humanly impossible. Authentic unity comes supernaturally when we are born again and bonded together with others in the love of the Holy Spirit.
■ Second is the power of unity. The Bible says one person can put 1,000 enemies to flight, two can send 10,000. Every championship team has learned the value of unity. It's called teamwork - where every player works on behalf of the entire team, sacrificing the glory and individual honors that could come should they play for themselves. (There is no "I" in team.) When a congregation is united in love, faith and vision, nothing is impossible to them in accomplishing God's purposes and expanding God's Kingdom on Earth.
■ Third is the prayer of unity. On the night of Jesus' arrest, he prayed a powerful prayer over all his disciples - past, present and future. He prayed that we all would be one, just as he is one with his father. This was his last request. Jesus' plea was not to escape the torture of the next hours and the cross, not that his followers would build great and awesome church buildings, but that we, his disciples, would love each other and get along. He prayed that we would be of one heart and mind - forgiving, forgetting and moving forward in the work of loving people into a relationship with Christ. When we do that, we become living answers to Jesus' prayer!
Is unity worth the cost? Ask God.
