There is such peace when everyone in a team or committee or group are aligned and unified. When the stress of divisions is gone and there is agreement on the essential direction and purpose there is this great experience of "oneness". The apostle Paul spoke about unity in the body of Christ in the book of Ephesians, chapter 4:
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4 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.
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Unity is something we should work toward and work for and work on with each other in the church. It requires work because we have many failings and we are very different, with differing views of life and the world. Unity doesn't seem to require total agreement or elimination of all the differences. But, as those who have put our faith in Christ, we have been made one in Him. From God's point of view we are one body with Him. The differences are supposed to become complementary rather than contradictory as we are forged into a common focus. My former pastor, Dick Woodward, described this as "unity without uniformity".
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We learn in verse 13 of this chapter that unity is the mark of maturity that signals a church is ready to move forward effectively! The church that is united is the church that most accurately and completely transmits and reflects the full image of Christ to a world that needs Him desperately.
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13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
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blessings,
Rob Smith
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