Unity is probably one of the most contentious issues in the Body of Christ today. One quick Google search reveals this, and spending much time on social media makes it painfully clear just how un-unified the Church is today. Arguments and petty disagreements proliferate. Differing points of theology have split churches, communities – even families. It’s heartbreaking, but how, in a divided world, do we practically apply the command of unity to our lives?
Clearly, it’s an important thing to God – the word appears in a number of different passages of Scripture, from various authors, in both Old and New Testaments.
“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.” – 1 Corinthians 1:10
“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.” – 1 Peter 3:8
“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” – Psalm 133:1
“Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.” – Philippians 2:2
Even Jesus said it when he was praying for His disciples – “That they may be one, even as we are one – I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” – John 17:23
But what is it really? And how can we practically apply it to our own lives?
Merriam-Webster defines unity as being oneness, accord, unification. Often, I think that we get unity and being carbon copies mixed up. Christian unity does not look like stamping out all individuality. It is oneness despite the fact that we are different.
I’ve heard a lot of people wax eloquent on how to get church bodies to unify – how to get the Church as a whole to become one. Usually, they attack what has been known as the “Identity Movement,” which has recently been a popular message encouraging people to find their identity as sons and daughters of Christ. (I’d just like to note here that their main argument is that the Body of Christ is supposed to be a family, not a lot of individuals. More on this in a second). The “Identity Movement” is creating selfish people, they protest.
And they aren’t wrong – when identity is preached apart from Jesus. When it is preached within the confines of our humanity, it really can be a very harmful message because it does create a lot of selfish individuals. It can tear down, rather than build up, unity in the Church.
We have to face the hard fact that oneness will never come out of our focus on unity. We are utterly incapable of achieving it. So how, you ask, do we get unity if Jesus Himself commanded us to be one?
The answer is a lot more simple (though perhaps easier said than done) than it first seems. The answer is Jesus. We will never become one if we focus our efforts on unity, but when we all focus our eyes on Jesus instead, unity is a direct result. It’s actually a natural progression. The same thing is true of any of the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, etc. When our gaze on the face of Christ is unwavering, these things will happen naturally because we will begin to emulate Him.
But this unwavering gaze starts in our own hearts – rarely does it begin in a group setting, and even when it does, it usually is between God and the individual. In his book The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer states it this way. (Note that when he refers to ‘religion,’ he is using an old-fashioned term for ‘faith.’)
“Someone may fear that we are magnifying private religion out of all proportion, that the “us” in the New Testament is being displaced by a selfish “I.” Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers meeting together each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become “unity” conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. Social [corporate] religion is perfected when private religion is purified. The body becomes stronger as its members become healthier. The whole Church of God gains when the members that compose it begin to seek a better and a higher life.” – A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God.
I have successfully managed to live in relative unity with a number of other individuals for the duration of my personal walk with Christ. These people are members of my family, and let me tell you, when our private walk with Christ is purified, our unity grows. When one (or several) of us are drifting from that close walk with Christ, we have more trouble being one with the people around us.
The Kingdom of Heaven does look like a family, as those who condemn the “identity movement” pronounce. But that’s the beauty of being a family – though we are massively different, we can be one as we run after the same goal – Jesus. And as our personal identity in Christ grows, our corporate identity in Christ grows as well.
And that’s unity in a nutshell. It’s oneness that comes from the gaze of our individual souls upon Jesus. Running after the same goal (any goal) is one of the best ways to connect with someone. Look at the number of sports fans, coffee connoisseurs, etc. So if we run after Jesus, who is the Author of unity, how much more will we become one if our wholehearted devotion is toward Him?
All photos courtesy Pixabay.com
