It’s easy to become discouraged in our walk with Christ. The mission ahead is daunting and the pressures against us mount every day. There are so many in the world who hunger and thirst, how can we ever reach them all? Every day wars are creating more orphans and widows, and we haven’t yet begun to be able to help the ones we had the day before. We long to live a life that looks like Jesus, but the odds against us seem increasingly overwhelming. So many die without ever knowing the peace and love that can come only from Jesus; our hearts ache and we become paralyzed at the work before us.
In times like these, we must remember to look not at what must be done, but instead to look only at what we must do next. We may not be able to feed 2 billion people today, but we can feed one. That is the next thing we must do. Looking at the mission as a whole is overwhelming, but looking at our next task is something we can all do. Everyone can touch a single life, and together as the Church we can do amazing things. Imagine what would happen if the entire Church determined today to reach out and assist one single person. What if each of us chose to love two people? What about three? There is so much that we could accomplish if we would simply do the next thing that we can. Instead we allow ourselves to believe that the work is too great so why even bother to put forth an effort. This is not the life we were called to live.
Individually we can affect the lives of many; together as a body of believers we can absolutely turn this world upset down with the love of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately the modern church would rather argue over differences in doctrine or rally around a particular Bible translation or worship style. We allow our petty annoyances and trivial arguments to destroy the unity required for taking our world by storm. This is why the Bible speaks so earnestly about unity among the believers (John 17:20-21; Romans 15:5-6; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 4:1-3; Colossians 3:14). Without unity, we are a Kingdom divided and are robbing ourselves of the power bestowed upon us by God. Without unity we despise the cross of Christ and diminish the reason for His sacrifice.
Ephesians 4:4-6 tells us that there is “one body and one Spirit”. We have rejected the Word of God and divided ourselves into factions and cliques that constantly compete for approval and attention. It’s as if we are still arguing about who will be the greatest in the Kingdom (Mark 9:33-37). Meanwhile the work of the Church, the mission of Christ, is being left undone. We are convinced that there is too much work and too few people to do it. If we as a Church, the body of Christ, all who proclaim to follow Him, if we would come together as one we could eliminate poverty, hunger, and thirst from our planet. It would not even be that difficult of a task. In the process we would be glorifying God and demonstrating His love in action. What the world needs is a united flock of sheep instead of a church full of goats (Matthew 25:31-46).
It is time we come together and stop the senseless posturing and bickering. The mission is before us and it is too much for a divided Church. God’s will on earth will be accomplished when His people come together as one to shine His glory throughout the world. Let’s forget about everything that needs to be done and focus on the next step only. One step in unity is enough to shake the world. How much longer will we refuse to humble ourselves and seek His kingdom first? The clock is ticking and we are running out of time.
Question: What one step can you take towards unity in the Church today?