What should be the basis for unity among Christians? Is it just love or truth or both? Suppose all the Christians come under the banner of a very popular church or a popular religious personality, does that mean unity? Is becoming more universal the aim of Christianity? On the contrary some may even think whether we need unity at all? What was Jesus’ wish? In fact Jesus was concerned about unity among His believers. John 17 presents Jesus’ longest intercessory prayer recorded in the Bible. Although the agony of the Cross was before Him, His greatest concern was not for Himself but for His followers. Four times Christ repeated His eager desire that His followers may be one (John 17:11, 21-23) - “they may be one, even as we are one.” In that special final hour, instead of praying for some other significant things, Jesus focused His prayer on the unity of the believers. He knew that the greatest danger among His followers would be a spirit of rivalry and division. Here Jesus’ aim is not for uniformity, but personal unity similar to His union with the Father. Although He and the Father are two persons, with different functions, yet they are one in nature and purpose. Similarly, we may have different temperaments, backgrounds, abilities, and roles, but we all should be united in Jesus Christ. We must fully accept Christ’s lordship in our lives. We must surrender our will to His will, so that He can mold our character. This unity among believers is a testimony to inspire the world to believe in Christ as the Savior sent by the Father. “They all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:20-21). This harmony and unity among believers of diverse dispositions is the strongest witness in front of the world. Each believer should have the intimate relationship with Jesus – “You in Me, and I in you” (John 14:20). Only the presence of Jesus in our hearts, can produce unity. We need 2 indispensable things for unity: the divine Word and divine love. If we have Jesus, we will also have His words, which are actually the words of the Father (John 14:24; John 17:8, 14). Jesus is “the truth” (John 14:6), and the Word of the Father “is truth”, as well (John 17:17). Unity in Jesus means unity in the Word of God. In order to have unity, we need to agree on the content of the truth as presented in the Word of God. Any attempt to attain unity without adherence to a body of biblical beliefs is futile and meaningless. The Lord also wants His followers to be united by true love. If we have Jesus, we will have the perfect love the Father has for the Son (John 17:26). This love is not a temporary emotion or feeling but a living and permanent principle of action. In order to have true love, we must have less of self and more of Jesus. Then we will truly and sincerely love one another. It has not always been easy to maintain a high view of truth and to have deep love for one another at the same time. There is always the risk of emphasizing one at the expense of the other. There was a time when doctrine alone was considered the most important element for unity. Fortunately, this lack of balance has been gradually corrected. Today, however, we run the risk of going to the other extreme: to think that love is more important than truth for unity. We need to remember that love without truth is blind, and truth without love is lifeless. Mind and heart should go together. The apostolic church exhibited this unity Christ prayed for: “They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine [truth] and fellowship [love]” (Acts 2:42). Let us pray to God that Christians be united based on God’s truth, filled with God’s love! Welcome to this page for more messages https://facebook/SomeTruthsThatYouShouldNotMiss
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 16:17:52 +0000
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