The Prayer for Christian Unity

Jesus prayed for it; Paul wrote about it; we often talk about it but unfortunately Christians are not known for their unity.    The legacy goes back a long way.  The Apostle Paul wrote about the disunity in the early church in Corinth when he says, “One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ."

Paul’s desire for unity in the church was expressed often.  He warned the church to ‘watch out for those that cause division and put obstacles in your way’ (Romans 16:17).

In John’s Gospel, Jesus prays for His disciples as well as us that we may be ONE.   This oneness is a unity that is based on purpose and mission.    Jesus said that “they may be as one as we are one….so that the world may believe” (John 17:21)

The unity and relationship between Jesus and the Father and the Holy Spirit has been an interesting discussion since the beginnings of the Church.   While we believe in just one God, we acknowledge that there are three persons in the one God.    This triune God is One but obviously not the same.  

The same should be said of us; we are not the same but can still be one.  Unlike the Trinity, we are frail and weak so we often get it wrong.  However, we need to strive for unity while still enjoying the diversity and variety within this movement we call Christianity.

All too often, Christians can’t understand Christian unity apart from sameness or uniformity.  That was the big problem with the early Church.   While it started off so well and there was a great understanding  of what Christ had accomplished and of one mission and one purpose unity quickly went off the tracks.  The church leaders decided that unity was to be expressed in conformity and sameness.   Liturgies were written, prayers prescribed, doctrine decreed and rules established.

Today we often do the same.  We pray and often pay lip service to Christian unity but are unwilling to consider that we can have differences in our worship style or even some of our doctrines but still have unity.  We can still be one with Jesus as our Savior and can still have the same purpose and mission.    There isn’t any one group or denomination that get’s it wrong; typically we all get it wrong. Personally I’m not really sure how to define unity but I certainly smile when I see it.

Back about 30 years ago (seems like just yesterday), Russ Taff wrote and sang, “We Will Stand” that has these memorable verses:

The day will come when we will be as one
And with a mighty voice together
We will proclaim that Jesus, Jesus is King
And it will echo through the earth
It will shake the nations and the world will see, see that

You're my brother, you're my sister
So take me by the hand
Together we will work until He comes
There's no foe that can defeat us
When we're walking side by side
As long as there is love we will stand

Woe to you who are rich

Recently a study done by the University of California at Berkley took a look at the ethical behaviors of those that are rich vs. those who are poor.

They conducted some laboratory as well as field tests that included over 1,000 individuals, both those that were rich as well as poor.   The results of the study surprised even that liberal academic institution.  Researchers found that the people that drove more expensive cars, had more money or more education were less likely to obey traffic laws, have compassion for those that are suffering and were more likely to cheat for financial gain, even if the financial gain was only $50. 

 

We shouldn’t be surprised.  Jesus said “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24).   Later in the same Gospel he talked about gathering together all of the people at the end of this age.  For lack of compassion, others were turned away.  “I was hungry and you gave me no food; I was thirsty and you gave me no drink.” (Matthew 25:42).  

There are also the ‘Three Woes” of the Gospel of Luke that immediately follow what we refer to as the Beatitudes where the poor and those who hunger and those that weep will be blessed.   Jesus then says,  “But woe to you that are rich! for you have received your consolation.  Woe to you that are full! for you shall hunger. Woe to you that laugh now! for you shall mourn and weep.  Woe to you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”

While we have plenty of Biblical guidelines for handling money responsibility and hard work and thriftiness are often admired qualities, there are many more warnings about greed, covetousness and not being compassionate.   The Gospels are clear that having compassion alone won't get you into heaven but it is a great indication of the condition of your heart.   Jesus came that we may live a life that is abundant but that abundance needs to be shared and used to also advance the welfare of those that are less fortunate.

Radical Tansformation

There are a lot of self-help videos, books and seminars that are available that provide some assistance when it comes to enabling change.

We all want to change whether it is losing weight, spending less money, getting out of debt, being a better father or mother or simply waking up on time.  Almost any advice will work if the advice is followed and a person is truly earnest and determined to make the change.

The problem with most of these self-help techniques however is that they never get to the heart of the issue.  Our very nature needs to change.  We need more than a tune-up; we need to be transformed. 

Some theologians and even some famous philosophers like Rousseau and more contemporary philosophers like Abraham Maslow teach that man is inherently ‘good’ and that if we are bad it must because of some societal cause or perhaps a mental illness.

I've read these philosophies and often thought they may be well-meaning but actually quite nieve.  Instead of looking at the obvious they search for some other explanation. 

Most of us that are parents know from experience that the nature our children are born with is not altogether good.  My children, no matter how cute (and they were) didn’t need to learn selfishness or how to easily become jealous when attention was directed anywhere other than them.  They didn't need to learn it because they were born with it like every other little baby that cries for their mother or takes shiny toys away from siblings. 

The Bible is truth, not philosophy and is actually quite clear.  The Apostle Paul speaks eloquently of a ‘sin nature’.  The Bible says that there is a propensity for men and women to follow their heart that the Prophet Jeremiah called “deceitfully wicked”.

At the core of our issues and our need for change is that we need a radical transformation. The Bible calls this a ‘new birth’.  Jesus said that we needed to be “born again” no matter how religious or how good we may think we are.  Fortunately for us, it’s the work of the Holy Spirit that causes this radical transformation.  

We however do get to participate.  When God offers His grace we simply respond.   We embrace the forgiveness that Jesus provides and lean towards this new relationship that has reconciled us back with our God.    As we have been changed, we no longer conform any longer to the world as we no longer belong to this world. 

The Apostle Paul encourages us to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)

Leading Through Encouraging

A few years ago, I met the head of a successful software company at a conference in Los Angeles.  His business card had his name and his title, “Chief Encouragement Officer”.  This was a man who understood a lot about leadership and what it meant to become an encourager.

Studies have shown that people are naturally attracted to positive people.  When we have the opportunity to encourage and speak words of affirmation and praise, we draw people into our circle of influence.  Leadership is all about influence and we earn it when people are drawn to us.

Leaders also know that in order to be able to coach and provide correction, it’s important to earn trust and support.   By accentuating the positive and encouraging people we earn the right as well to identify course corrections and improvements in task and process.  Leading through encouraging means that we always find the positive, we always affirm, we always bless.  

Ephesians 4:29 gives us some great advice, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

Character Development

Child development is a major focus of our society; so much so that the term “child development’ returns over 226 million articles on the web.    Even in the church, much of our efforts are directed to our children and students in developing moral character, teaching the ethics, Christian principles and values that are so important as children move into adolescence and early adulthood.

However, character development is not supposed to stop in our 20s.  Quite the contrary, almost everyone I know understands how much of their character has been continuously developing as they continue to grow and learn and mature.

Every day we make choices.  Character can be defined as the decisions that have been formulated and secured long before the choice is presented.   Joseph showed that in the decision that he had made not to violate himself and offend the Lord and his earthly master when Potiphar’s wife came to tempt him.   In the same way, Daniel “resolved not to defile himself” by eating at the King’s table.

It’s our mission in life to continually develop our character.   The Apostles and disciples of Jesus were merely human.  Their character was flawed, they argued over who was greater and were jealous of each other.   However over time, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, these men and women became strong and victorious.  The Lord had built their character through example and through experiences including suffering.  In Romans chapter 5, the Apostle Paul explains the process starting with our coming to faith:

 “ Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

When we realize how much we have to learn, how much our character needs to be developed we can resolve to keep our eyes and our heart on our personal character development.  In the Book of Hebrews we are encouraged, “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith"