November 4, 2019 MAINTAINING THE UNITY
Matthew 5:23-24 “Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”
Ephesians 4-3 “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.
Colossians 3:13 “Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
For believers to be rightly related to one another is a priority in the sight of God and should be a priority for us as well. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are in perfect unity and because we have been joined to God and His Spirit lives in us, we are also to live in unity with the Father and with other believers. Psalm 133:1 declares “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity.” We must be on guard against anything that would disrupt the unity that is ours to enjoy. For certain, we all find ourselves at times having to deal with conflict, misunderstandings, and division; these things come when one lives according to self and not according to who they are in Christ. Sometimes, disagreement and conflict comes just because we think differently on certain issues where neither one is right or wrong-and that can also disrupt the unity. In 1 Corinthians 3:3 we read: “For you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealously and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? And Philippians 2:3 tells us: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.” We may not always be able to resolve conflict, but we can respond in a way that is right and we can have the right heart that brings us a sense of peace. When conflict confronts us, we may try to ignore it and just hope it will go away; however, to ignore conflict, hurt feelings, strife, and division is not the answer. From the verses above, we see that we must take the initiative when it comes to maintaining the unity. To be in unity does not mean that we will all think just alike or agree on every detail, but it does mean that we see unity as more important than our personal opinions and we choose to lay aside our preferences and prefer others over ourselves. We are to see other believers as our brothers and sisters in the Lord and we are to love and honor them as the Lord loves us; just as the Lord laid down His life, so must we. Let us be proactive in maintaining the unity that we have in Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:10 “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgement.
Ephesians 4:1-3 “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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