As ONE

“My prayer is not for them… I pray also for those who will believe in me … that all of them may be one,…

(John 17:20-21, NKJV)

One of the beauties of life is the diversities that we see and experience.  The plants and fruits that grow, the different soils, stones, jewels, oils and even the climate of different locations.  The diversity of our languages, cultures and values, not to mention how differently we all think and interpret issues.  Creation is a display of the beauty of diversity and yes, human beings are also different, not just in body shapes and heights, race but even in our thoughts.  Anyone seeking to make the world homogenous would struggle with the miniscule yet critical differences that exist.  It has been said that diversity is strength when embraced.  This does not mean that we do not recognize the differences but we choose to be inclusive instead of exclusive or reclusive.

When we look at human beings, none of us looks like the other, yet each one of us brings a unique strength and flavour which if accommodated strengthens the whole.  It is important to state that our differences do not suggest that we are less of God’s image compared to others, it simply means that we are fashioned differently.  Even with these differences, we are complete and wonderfully made, crafted by the hand of the Master for His purposes.  The bible reminds us that each of us with our variety of gifts are set to strengthen the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12).  Jesus when praying for His disciples in above verse, clearly said that the prayer was not only for those who were with Him at that time but also for others who down the ages would believe in His Name.  Brethren, this is where we come in, we are those that Jesus prayed for and His prayer was specific – that we would all be one.  The desire of our Lord is that we would be one, united in faith.  Sadly, looking around us, with a focus on the body of Christ who call themselves Christians world over, we would be hard pressed to explain the fights and differences that we passionately seek to justify as to why we are better than others.  Brethren, none of us is good but for the mercies of God. If we were good and justified, Christ would not have come to die for us.  We all have sinned (Romans 3: 23-24) saved by grace and not of our own doing (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Why then do we fight with each other as believers?  Why do we stand on the man-made statues of our doctrines only to bring others down?  Could we have been taken captive by the philosophies and traditions of men and are not led by Christ (Colossians 2:8)?  When we look at the plethora of churches and the doctrines some of them espouse, one would be forgiven for wondering who they are following.  Christians have “Christ” in common, the bond that He gives us to each other is more powerful than the doctrines of men.  In Him there is room for each one of His genuine followers.  The doctrines we follow which divide us pale in comparison to the power of His blood which unites us.  We are to complement each other not compete, we are part of each other. 

Apostle Paul in writing to the Ephesians reminds us that we are of one body, one faith, one spirit, one baptism and one God the Father of all (Ephesians 4:4-6).  Heather Jordan sang “one bread, one body, one Lord of all, one blessed hope in which we stand and we though many throughout the earth, we are one body in this one Lord”.  Beloved, our unity as is true of our faith is the answer that Jesus prayed for before His crucifixion.  Noting when He prayed this, it calls us to recognize the fundamental place that UNITY holds and our need to demonstrate it.  May we all seek to honour and respect others as we stand united in  Christ.  May we not lose sight of what binds us together – the blood of Jesus Christ which is availed to all who believe.

Thoughts:

What differences do you observe in fellow Christians?

In which areas have you neglected unity of the church?

What are your reflections on this topic of unity?