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Articles
More Unity in Christ, If...
"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." Philippians 2:1-2
Can we have too much unity in the Lord's church? Calls for unity in our nation are popular, however much more effort is focused on dividing this country. Similarly, calls for unity within the church are common, but unfortunately, not enough effort is put forth to achieve greater unity. Some talk about unity as the end goal, but for there to be unity, there must be a cause on which to unify.
Our cause to unify is simple: Jesus Christ. Jesus offers us "consolation," or encouragement. We have the comfort that comes from His love, and we are offered fellowship with and through the Holy Spirit. Interestingly, Paul qualifies each of those blessings with the word "if."
"If there is any consolation in Christ..." IF?! How could there not be! Paul goes on to tell us: "by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." If we share that unity, then yes, there is abundant encouragement, love, fellowship, affection, and mercy! However, if we are not like-minded, if we do not share Christ's love with each other, then we cannot expect to find the comfort of His love, or any of the other blessings enumerated in verse one.
Well unity certainly sounds nice, but how do we actually unite with other Christians? Again, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul goes on to tell us:
"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interest, but also for the interests of others." Philippians 2:3-4
Time for some self-evaluation. Do I do anything through selfish ambition? Do I ever act out of pride? Do I ever consider myself to be more important than others? Am I more concerned with my own interests than the interests of others? Yes, yes, yes, and yes.
There is room for improvement. Improvement starts with me. I cannot change others, but I can change myself. I can do my part to promote more unity within the Lord's church here at Danville. I cannot make anyone else change, but I can ask you to join me in the effort to promote more peace through humility. Will you join me?
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men." Philippians 2:5-7
Jesus Christ's example is literally difficult to fathom sometimes. Jesus left heaven. I just cannot imagine that. Jesus left heaven to become a servant. Jesus left heaven to redeem you and me. Please read those words again - Jesus left heaven to redeem you! It is difficult to find the words to express the appropriate amount of appreciation for what He did.
How do I promote more unity? By being more like Jesus. If Jesus could humble Himself, if Jesus could leave heaven, if Jesus could become a servant, then could I not be a little less selfish, and a little more selfless? If I could become more selfless, could others as well? If we all did our best to adopt the mind of Christ, and let Christ transform us, and if we all became a little more selfless, then maybe we'd find a bit more unity in Christ. If we could learn to serve better, to remove our pride and love with humility, maybe we really would be the salt of the earth. Maybe we really could be a city that is set on a hill. If...
