“You weren’t made to fit in. You were born to stand out.” Jim Caviezel
A reader recently asked me, “What do you mean by Christian unity?”
Let’s start with what it does not mean.
Christian unity does not mean that we adopt a coexist mentality that blends us into other worldviews. Our call is to shine light into darkness and encourage others to walk with us in the light. Some will come with us. Others will throw stones at us if we don’t dance in darkness with them.
But God didn’t call us to fit in.
We are pulled in two directions. As the world of darkness calls us to fit in with them, we are tempted to remain in our small group of believers who agree with us in nearly every way conceivable. Life is tidy there. We all agree with each other.
But God didn’t call us to fit in.
Christ calls us to enlarge our borders and love every one of His followers.
He asked that we be “perfected in unity.” Perhaps He prayed that prayer when He did (right before He went to the cross) so we would know unity wouldn’t be easy. So we might see that standing together in spite of a disjointed fitting would be the thing that captures the world’s eye.
He prayed that we would be united, so that the world may know” that the Father sent the Son, that the Father loves us even as He loves His Son (John 17: 23). Unity is crucial to the world knowing. It shows that His followers stand on these Christian foundations.
The Bible is God’s Word.
God made people in His image. That makes every person a sacred being.
Every person is a sinner.
Christ is the sinless, second person of the Trinity, who offers us His sacrifice, His death, to atone for our sins.
His bodily resurrection overcame death.
His grace saves us.
The Holy Spirit ministers today.
Christ is coming again.
Christian unity requires us to speak with one voice on these foundational doctrines. We can also speak with one voice on the issues of our day. Because we are sacred beings, life is sacred. Marriage is sacred. Our every action toward each other is sacred.
Christian unity doesn’t mean we dump our ways of worship, hold hands, and sing “Kumbaya” for the rest of forever. We are passionate about our faith and faith traditions and need to remain so.
Christian unity means we can have reasonable discussions about our differences as we seek to understand each other. It means I realize that God can work in your life in your church just as He works in my life and in my church. It means He can work through us together.
Because that’s exactly what He said—“so that the world may know.”
How can we stand out for Christ? Unity would capture the attention of the world. It would be something our fellow sacred beings walking in darkness have never before witnessed.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the entities I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
I’ve never really thought about how intense it must be for Christ to see disunity in the church. It could be described as His own body ripping itself apart without the help of Roman torturers or a cross. The world can’t see Christ risen in a church of disunity, because we show His body as the broken mangled mess that hung on the cross, not the glory of His risen form.
We have a small window in these days to show the world our love for God, EACH OTHER, and those outside the Church. We have to find unity while remaining true to God’s principles. But when we do that and together reach out to those in need, we can change the world.