Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

unity

Unity

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Depending on the source, there are between 1,100 and 43,000 different denominations under the umbrella of Christianity. The best and most agreed-upon definition of what makes up a denomination puts the number somewhere between 9,000 and 30,000. It is important to consider those numbers in light of the last prayer Jesus prayed for His disciples before going to the cross to be crucified for our sins (John 17:20-22). He asked the Father that His disciples would be unified.

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Jesus prayed His followers would be one, just as He and His Father were one. Reflecting on that, how would you say the Church is doing in living out His desire that we would be unified as one? Instead of a vibrant body moving in harmony with one another, we have allowed our petty differences and selfish opinions to divide the body not once, not twice, but over 10,000 times. That’s not unity, and it shows the Church is falling woefully short of what Christ intended it to be.

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Unified

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Throughout history, we’ve seen times of trouble unify people around a common cause or enemy. In a divided world of hatred, offense, and self-interest, we could use some unity today. Perhaps something as insidious as a global pandemic will have the silver lining of unifying humanity, banding us together to fight the virus inflicting many and disrupting life as we knew it.

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Only time will tell. What I do know, as followers of Christ, His call is always for us to be unified, not only when trouble abounds. Our unity is so important that Jesus made it the subject of His last prayer for us before He allowed Himself to be crucified (John 17:20-23).

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Friendly Fire

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It seems to be in vogue for Christians to attack other Christians publicly, decrying their stances on issues with which we may disagree. I am 100% about standing on Biblical truth. If we’re going to do that, we need to stand on all the truths of Scripture, not just the ones we choose. I recently was forwarded an email originally from a prominent person in Christendom. In the email, the individual called out many professing Christians for their stance (or lack thereof) regarding a particular sin.

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The list included corporations, athletes, and entertainers. There’s something wrong with us if the best use of our time is attacking fellow believers in Christ. Each of us has sin in their lives. We also must recognize not everyone who claims to be a Christian is a true follower of Jesus. As many before me have pointed out, it is far better to be declaring Who we are for rather calling out those things we are against.

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Be Unified

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As a people, we love to label, separate, and divide. We might expect this behavior from the world at large, but unfortunately, the Church seems to enjoy it as much as everyone else. This stands in sharp contrast to Jesus’ desire for us to be unified. When He prayed to His Father for us, his emphasis was on our unity (John 17:20-23).

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He prayed we would be unified just as He and His Father were. Do you realize how close Jesus and God the Father are? They are one and the same, flowing in and around each other to the point no separation can be found. As a body of believers, we have rarely experienced a unity anything like this.

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Be the Church

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Mahatma Gandhi had a famous quote: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” It’s great advice. I believe we as followers of Jesus can subscribe to a similar quote: “Be the church you are praying for”. When I pray for the body of Christ in the world, I pray we will always act in love. I pray we show grace and mercy to everyone we encounter.  Perhaps most of all, I pray for unity among believers.

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image © monique delatour via Fotolia

We are an incredibly diverse bunch, and there are as many opinions as there are Christians. Ultimately, the only thing that matters is we look like Jesus to the world around us. We can’t be the church until we demonstrate his love and beauty to everyone we meet, regardless of their ethnicity, background, or social standing.

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