Prior to my mom passing away one of the things that were heavy on her heart was the lack of unity.
Living in a world that teaches the importance of looking out “for me, myself and I” you do not see a widespread belief of unity.
What does it mean to live in unity? The dictionary defines unity as “the state of being united or joined as a whole.” Numerically, unity represents the number 1 (one).
The Bible highlights unity in many different ways:
“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” Psalm 133:1
“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.”
“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:3
Jesus prayed for all believers that we live in Unity.
But how do we do this?
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:13-14
“Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.” 1 Peter 3:8
“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.” Romans 12:16
Most importantly, we can’t do this without Christ. 2 Chronicles 30:12 tells us that in Judah “the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the LORD.” So we need to pray for unity. We need to read the word and seek Christ’s face requesting his hand to be upon us in our achievement of unity.
Food for thought: Achieving unity isn’t easy as we were not all made the same. But in God’s master plan he made us all different, each with our own uniqueness and skills so that we can bear fruit within HIS kingdom. Pray and ask God for wisdom, fortitude and strength in obeying HIS will for unity.
Prayer: Precious Father, in a world that focuses on self-prosperity, self-success, self-reliance, selfishness… remind us daily that as your righteous people we are to live in unity with others. Your word reminds us that just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink (1 Corinth 12:12-13). Forgive us when we try to take things into our own hands instead of relying on you. May we continue to see you for your wisdom and will. In Jesus name. Amen
May God’s mercy, grace and peace be with you.