Both Jesus and the Apostle Paul spoke often of
unity. Jesus prayed, “that
all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they
also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." (John 17:21)
Unfortunately, for over 14 centuries, the way that unity
was expressed in the church was not in a oneness of heart but a fierce enforcement of the
same teaching. This was most
unfortunate because the sword often enforced this type of unity. You were either ‘in-step’ with the teachings
of the church or you were killed.
At the beginning the 4th Century, Christians
went from being under horrible persecution to seeing in 380 AD, by a decree of
the Roman Emperor the Catholic church become the official and only sanctioned religion
of the Roman Emperor. Looking back, the earlier persecution was probably better; fewer believers were killed and their love for each other was stronger.
While things have changed, we in the church haven't always understood what unity was truly about. However, more and more we are seeing it. Today, we know that people are more likely to be attracted to the
church because of how we act out or exemplify our love for people and the
Gospel than what version of the Bible we read. Non-essential matters like the
type of music used in worship or whether we believe in a pre, mid or post-tripulation
of the church or our definition of election are best left to the theologians rather than something we put on our calling card or our church vision statement.
The Apostle Paul said in his Letter to the Colossians
(Col 3:14) that love is the perfect bond of unity. If we love deeply enough we will work together and not be so concerned about issues that tend to divide.
