The Power of Unity Among Believers

 

The unity of believers is a strategic witness to the greatness and power of God. As Christians we have the opportunity to demonstrate God in how we live in unity amid a world obsessed with comparison, competition and performance. As our world is torn apart by division based on appearance, belief, opinion and affiliation – we can stand apart. Unity – togetherness. A choice that is difficult and costly.

Unity is not agreement. It is not conformity. Unity is a choice, a prioritizing of importance. 

Joshua rallied the people of Israel prior to his death and called them to choose again to serve God and not the idols and pagan gods of the land. They stood in the land of Promise, the land their ancestors waited for, wandering in the wilderness because of their lack of faith. Joshua and the new generations claimed it with their faith, they fought the battles and witnessed the victories of God again and again. And there they stood victorious residents of age-old promises, committing again to worship one God. Joshua warned them of the idols and the judgement of God for turning to them. He said, “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. He called them to unity around that point – God alone. Choose now! 

Jesus called his disciples to Himself. They were far from perfect, with more of His teaching coming in response to their mistakes and misguided questions, than from their honest interest in the kingdom. They were anything but the same. Good Jewish boys together with traitors, extremists - some were educated, others were not, some knew the torah, others knew the world just as well. 

He called them to Himself and to one another. A unity that changed the world.

That is you and me. A unity that can change the world! 

Unity is evidence of something greater than all that threatens to divide us. A choice to stay, to draw closer than our agreements. A choice to unify even in disagreement, to love and serve one another – to love God above all else. 

Unity that is evidence of God’s abundance. Unity that cleanses and heals. Unity that causes the strength of one to rain down on another, so that all receive in abundance.  Unity that spans the distance, the topic, the tension. Unity that rises above, that shines amid darkness and chaos. Unity that commands a blessing. Unity that points to eternity and draws the reward of that reality into the fragmented places in our present circumstances. Unity that rallies under the promises of God, stands in victory and charts a course forward in God. 

Believers united in faith, not just in God, but in the strength of God in one another.

Believers who say to one another: “I will not be torn from you – we will find a way to love, through all that could separate us. I will not let an agenda, an option, or my strongly held conviction become bigger than the choice of which God I serve. I will not be torn from you based on any political issue or ideology, by any person or leader, nor by our feelings about a person or responses to an event.” Believers whose “yes” to God is great enough to persevere and overcome the challenges that threaten to divide and separate. 

In this way we show the world a divine unity, a love that perseveres and remains. 

Unity that accesses heaven and changes the earth.