Our Christ-centered DNA describes the center of who we are as a church. Our mission, vision, model, strategy, and values all come from our DNA which defines who we are, how we do what we do, and why!

This week: Our Value #1 = Unity

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CIRCLING & BATTLE LINES

Love avoids leaving other left out

“Unity without the gospel is a worthless unity; it is the very unity of hell.”  JC Ryle

Talking to my neighbor one day, I heard a familiar piece of advice that we’ve all heard before.  I can’t remember what exactly we were talking about, but I know that the topic caused my neighbor to say, “My father always told me never to talk about religion and politics”.  I understand why people think like that because both of those topics can spark strong emotions in people, and a simple discussion can turn to a serious debate before you blink an eye.  This piece of advice has some good because it implies some good principles.  First, that we should be cautious about these topics with others because of how we might make others feel.  Second, we should avoid fighting or arguing with others.  I disagree about never talking about those topics because our opinions related to both impact so much of the world around us.

As people, we are being conditioned through the media and through online social platforms to react harshly with people whom we disagree with.  This US vs THEM mentality is very damaging because how are we to love one another if we don’t know how to talk to each other?  Christians are held to a higher standard because since we have been reconciled to God through Christ and we should act as connectors rather than dividers.  We must live out God’s love and grace towards those who are different from us and embrace brothers and sisters from any background or viewpoint.  I believe that we impact Christians and influence non-Christians when Jesus followers model unity by the way we draw bigger circles rather than battle lines.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!  It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!  It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion!  For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore. Psalms 133 (ESV)

Unity is the calling of all believers.  This principle that Jesus taught His Church was to be a continuation of what the Lord had led the nation of Israel model for generations.  Kind David writes a simple and powerful psalm, reflecting the heart of God and the benefits of living in unity.  The nation of Israel, like the Church, should see themselves as family.  The Hebrew word for “brothers” that David used could mean relatives (in our case other Christians) or it could simply be neighbors and strangers that surround us (or non-Christians).  We are to show love to all and embrace others.  The “pleasant” result communicates a loving, charming, and attractive environment.  It blesses God’s heart when we bless each other and live in unity.

David used two images to help the Israelites to see the value in unity.  Though Aaron had long since died when David wrote this Psalm, the image of Aaron the High Priest was symbolic and significant because the high priest represented the unifying factor between a holy God and His unholy people because of his redemptive work and role.  The oil that is poured excessively over Aaron represents how much our love should flow and overflow.  Jesus is the great high priest, and through the Holy Spirit we are united back into a loving relationship with God Himself.  His love then flows and overflows throughout our lives.  People far away from Aaron could smell him coming with this amount of perfumed oil that would be poured in his head.  This kind of unity between God, us, and each other as Christians will always be “pleasant” and appealing to unbelievers.  But the stench of disunity and lack of love will drive unbelievers away faster than anything else.

Mount Hermon is the highest mountain in Syria, about 120 miles away from Israel.  It is naturally covered with a lot of moisture in the form of rain and snow.  That water runs down the mountain side and creates a very fertile valley.  This mountain is also the source of the Jordan River that runs throughout the entire nation of Israel.  Unity with Christ and other Christians works in us and through us, as the water of God’s love flows and bring life to those around us.

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,  that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,  I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. John 17:20-23 (ESV)

Living in unity with God and each other is our calling because it produces the biggest blessings.  That’s why Jesus prayed specifically for this the night He was arrested to be crucified.  The images that David used to communicate how much God values unity are enhanced here in Jesus’ prayer.  God’s people are to display this kind of unity in carrying out it’s calling in the world, because a divided Church is always a distracted Church.

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.  Ephesians 4:1-6

Unity is the responsibility of each believer.  This kind of unity that Paul is encouraging is the result of the Holy Spirit (the oil that is poured, the moisture that runs down).  He alone can help us go from self-centered and me-focused to Christ-centered and others-focused.  Without the Holy Spirit we will not have the humility and gentleness to control ourselves, or the patience to love difficult people.  The unity that should be evident in our Christian community is rooted with Christ at the center among us.  Jesus is the most important common denominator.  This is what allows us to be united without having to be uniform, unanimous, or literally united to each other always.  We would call that group of people a cult, not a church.  In Christ, unity is possible, even in diversity.  And God wants both.

Our differences and disagreements among Christians should never lead to division among us as brothers and sisters in Christ.  If you don’t love one another, you are wrong, even when you are right.

The power and presence of God’s love is what fosters the unity in our Church community.  To know if this is happening, we need to learn to ask the question, “Am I drawing big enough circles?”.  Meaning, I am reaching out and including people who are not like me in my life?  If we are not purposeful about drawing bigger circles, we will be default draw battle lines.  It is the calling and the responsibility of each believer to be the kind of Church that models to it’s surrounding community what a cross-cultural, cross-generational, and cross-class community looks like.  All of that is made possible by the cross of Jesus Christ!  Because of God’s love for us, we as His Church replace the “US vs THEM” mentality and embrace an “US FOR THEM” strategy.  Imagine non-Christians wanting to be a part of our community because of the love that is present among us?  Jesus said it would happen if we would allow the love of God to bring us together.

At some point in science class, we all learned about erosion.  As water flows down rivers, along coastlines, and over cliffs as water falls, the surrounding terrain is altered.   This force and consistent movement of water slowly rubs against coastlines, cliff sides, and the walls of canyons, eroding away sand and rock, reshaping shorelines and cutting canyons deeper and deeper each year.  When we allow God’s forceful and consistent love to continue to move over us, our hearts of stone will be reshaped and molded as He desires, leading us to cross our battle lines and draw bigger circles, so that many more can we swept under the current of the powerful and loving river of God.  For the more we become one, the more the world will see that Jesus is the one and only God!