Disagree? Unite Anyway!

Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. Psalms 133:1

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:1-6

On my way to work or home, I pass 10-15 churches. Five of the churches are within walking distance on the same road. You can look across the street while in one church and see another. I live in a small town only 15 minutes from work. When looking up churches in the phone book in my county, hundreds can be found. There is a church for every belief?or so one would think. I know of one church that used to run close to 1,000 people, but conflict came, and now many of those folks have branched off into several home churches consisting of 15-20 people. Certainly they all get along. There aren’t enough people in those small group churches to start a conflict, right?

So you’re thinking, “this is just a gripe session about the church, and Christians in general.” It’s not intended to be. I understand we are all unique. God gives us all diverse gifts, talents, and abilities. I realize because we are created to be different, we are also going to have different opinions and interpretations.

Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. 1 Corinthians 12:27

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Romans 12:4-5

Even though, we have different interpretations and opinions, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to get along as Christians. It’s been said, “united we stand, divided we fall.” I believe we are in danger of falling as a church and as a country because Christians are divided. We are divided during a time we really need to stand in harmony. We may not agree, but for the sake of our country, we need to swallow our pride of knowing just how right we are and stand in unity.

Unity in this country isn’t going to come from a political figure or a good cause. It can only come from the body of believers that is known as “The Church”. If the church can’t seem to unite, how is everyone else supposed to? Just because we don’t agree, doesn’t mean we can’t unite.

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.  And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.  1 Corinthians 12:4-6