“May they be brought to complete UNITY to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” -John 17:23
Before Jesus went to the cross, he was praying for us. He was praying for ALL believers. And WHAT was he praying for? He was praying for UNITY. He was praying that OUR UNITY AS BELIEVERS would point the world to the Father and His great love for us.
UNITY . . . it is a word that has been on my mind A LOT lately. I have been praying for unity for the youth at my church and unity for my team. And the more I pray, the more I see the importance to pray even harder for it!!
One of the BIGGEST ways we show the world Jesus is by being unified. As it says in I John 3:14, “We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers.” Unity and our love for others is the very evidence that we are saved! If we have schisms between one another as Christians, how on earth will that point the world to Christ? Why would ANYONE want to be a part of bickering and hate? Why would anyone believe our God is a God of forgiveness when his very followers cannot even forgive one another? “Forgive as the Lord forgave you,” should be our motto, but so many times that is not the case. And, WHAT is that saying to those around us?
We cannot serve Christ effectively if we are not of the same mind. We cannot effectively serve if we are hungup on disagreements. Even Paul had a strong argument with his friend Barnabas and because of it, they could no longer serve together. Instead of continuing their missionary journey together, they split ways. You cannot effectively serve Christ if you are not working as one. At camp, I had a squad leader tell me all about her previous team. They were so disunified that one contact had to actually ask them NOT to serve because they were going to be more of a hinderance than a help. What a wake up call for that team!! They had to go and work on being unified before they could go back and point anyone to Christ.
So, what leads to disunity? Pride, quarrels, selfishness, a lack of forgiveness, anger, gossip, etc. In Ephesians 4:26, Paul says, “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” When we are angry or bitter at a brother or sister in Christ, we give Satan a place that he can latch on and drag us down. When we do not work things out and “harbor bitterness” in our hearts, that is when Satan steps right on in and does his dirty work. “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8b), and if you do not resist him and flee from the temptations he puts in your way, he will be ready to pounce and rip you and your family and your church and your team to pieces!
So, my plea to my friends, my plea to my family, my plea to my teammates, and my plea to whoever reads this is that you fight for UNITY!! Just as Paul pleaded with his friends Euodia and Syntyche “to agree with each other in the Lord,” I also plead with you. Choose to forgive. Choose to step up and love even when it is hard. Stop bickering and arguing and instead “shine like stars in the universe!!!!”
