Believe as I believe--no more, no less;
That I am right (and no one else) confess.
Feel as I feel, think only as I think;
Eat what I eat, and drink but what I drink.
Look as I look, do always as I do;
And then--and only then--I'll fellowship with you.
Unknown
Why do we have this tendency to not want to step out of our own little world of preferences? Aren’t other’s opinions and ways of doing things, just as valid and valuable as our own? Perhaps our underlying fears of embracing differences may be the rationale for much of the disunity in our churches today?
A couple of months ago, I asked the Lord to help me remove those things from my life which promoted disunity, among fellow Christians. Before long I was inundated. Sure He pointed out the obvious things like selfishness, pride, and envy. Then the Holy Spirit got personal and mentioned even more divisive things like, money, insecurity, time, hurt feelings, preferences, education, status, race, culture, language, and differences of opinion. Is it any wonder we have such hard time finding and maintaining Christian fellowship?
Like a dog with its tail between its legs, I took my overwhelming list back to God and asked for more help. He reminded me of Philippians 2: 1-4: 1 “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” (NIV)
These verses were hard to apply and not at all what I was looking for. I was reminded in verse 1 that this attitude wasn’t for my consolation and comfort, but rather for His. Such verses are not only difficult, they are impossible to achieve without the insight and strength given to us by Holy Spirit. I take heart in Vance Havner’s metaphor, “Snowflakes are frail, but if enough of them get together they can stop traffic.” The unity we so long for among believers can only be found in the true lover of our souls. In Him there is perfect unity, as trinity; Father, Son, and Spirit. The harmony we seek comes through our union with Him alone. He reminds us in Romans 8:37-39:“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The other day I was listening to a, Focus On The Family, broadcast and Anne Graham-Lotts was speaking on Heaven. Anne mentioned her love for the beach, and how disappointed she was to discover that there would be no oceans in heaven. Giving the matter further consideration, she began to realize oceans divide things like continents, countries, nationalities, cultures, and even races. She began to ponder if oceans were divisive, how could they have a place in heaven? She postulated, if nothing can separate us from Christ; doesn’t that mean there will be nothing in heaven which causes separation as well? Just think about it. No pain, sickness, racism, poverty, elitism, or any of those dark things I mentioned above. There will only be light and His illumination!
One day we will be transported to our beautiful home in heaven, where there will be total unity with no separation or division. Let’s bring some this heavenly unity into our churches and fellowships here on earth!
Perhaps John Wesley said it best, “I want the whole Christ for my Savior, the whole Bible for my book, the whole Church for my fellowship, and the whole world for my mission field.”
