From the Pastor
FROM THE PASTOR
We live in a deeply divided nation. That’s no surprise to most of us. One news channel took a survey two years ago that showed we are more deeply divided than at any time since the Civil War.
We are divided along racial lines. For every person who argues that Black Lives Matter, there’s another who believes that all lives matter. We are divided by gender, by ethnicity, and by worldviews. How do you feel about gun control? What about the police? How about war? And don’t get me started on politics. It’s not always easy to get a group of people to agree on something, but on occasion it can be done. Even Democrats and Republicans agreed to end the last government shutdown. It’s gotten to be front page news when that happens. Agreement is possible.
Unity, however, is an entirely different thing. You and I might agree on something, but it doesn’t mean we’re unified. Merriam-Webster defines unity as “the quality or state of not being multiple: oneness.” To be unified we would have to agree on more than just one or two issues. No, for us to be truly unified our vision for everything would have to be aligned.
Jon Brown from Word of Life had this to say about unity.
“Unity is more than agreement. Agreement is nice. It makes life much easier when people agree on things like the style of worship, or the Sunday school curriculum, or what to look for in the next pastor. But Christian unity is more than just reaching agreement. It comes only when we are willing to put others before ourselves. In this we follow Jesus’ example. He prayed for it, died for it, and rose from the dead to accomplish it. He will come again to usher in full unity. Until that great day, we must work toward the unity we know is coming.”
Did you see that? Unity comes only when we are willing to put others before ourselves. When we do that it’s also pleasing to God. Psalm 133:1 says, “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” These are challenging times at Community Church and as we move forward we need more than agreement; we need unity.
Think about that,
RB