In John 13:35, Jesus told his followers, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” In our current evangelical culture, it seems at times that we are trying to identify ourselves as followers of Christ with all sorts of efforts, but somehow, love for one another doesn’t rise to the top. Jesus’s statement always jumps out at me, not so much for what Jesus said, but for what he didn’t say.
Jesus didn’t say, for instance, that the world would know we are his disciples by our precise doctrine, our Bible translation, or our political affiliations. All of these things are important in their own way, but how will the world know we belong to Jesus? “If you have love for one another.”
Healthy churches look for reasons to be unified. Unhealthy churches look for reasons to be divided.
This is one of the major difference between healthy churches and unhealthy churches. Healthy churches look for reasons to be unified. Unhealthy churches look for reasons to be divided. The early church stuck together.
Unity isn’t some sort of liberal agenda. It is a biblical expectation. Consider Paul’s words to the Ephesians:
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:1-6
Paul urged these people to be eager to maintain unity. You probably know what it is like to be eager to have a disagreement. Most of us have had the experience of chomping at the bit to have an argument. But, Paul says we should be eager to maintain unity.
Did you wake up this morning with thought, “Man, I can’t wait to find an opportunity to pursue and prioritize unity over division today?”
Probably not. But you should have (and so should I). The word that we translate as eager also means to make haste or exert one’s self. In other words, pursuing unity is hard work. Being unified in the church will not be accidental, it requires effort.
It is challenging to get along with others, even fellow Christians, sometimes. The way of the flesh in those moments of challenge is to divide, to argue, to be angry. But, the way of Christ, the way of the Spirit, is the pursuit of unity. Does the pursuit of unity mean that nothing else matters? Do we neglect sound doctrine for the sake of unity? Absolutely not. But, we probably work to clarify the difference between personal preference and biblical necessity. The pursuit of unity can make it possible for believers to maintain fellowship even when they have slight doctrinal differences or different preferences for worship style. How are these things possible?
Unity becomes a real possibility when Christ’s followers walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which they have been called. Unity becomes a real possibility when believers interact with each other with “all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Unity is possible when believers choose to focus on the Spirit and His work rather than their own preferences and desires.
Is unity in the church always easy? It is almost never easy. But, unity is a biblical expectation that should be pursued by every church and every believers who claims the name of Christ. Unity is hard work, but it is rewarding work, and it honors Christ.
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