Growing in Unity
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how our world leans toward disunity. Everywhere we turn, we are reminded of our differences, we are encouraged to voice our opinions more loudly than we voice our love, and we find ourselves caught in what can feel like a non-stop cycle of upsetting news. It can sometimes feel like an issue that is specific to this generation, but we can always turn to the Word to find how we can lean into unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
READ: 1 Corinthians 3:3-9 (ESV)
“…for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”
This scripture reminds me that even the early church debated over their loyalty to different leaders and their understanding of theological practices. Paul illustrates through the metaphor of planting seeds that ultimately, no one leads us to salvation and freedom except God through His Son, Jesus. I was encouraged by reflecting on the image of gardening alongside fellow believers, some who may seem so different than myself, with a common goal of growing God’s field.
READ: Matthew 9:37-38 (ESV)
“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’”
Sometimes we need a reminder of just how crucial it is that we work in unity with fellow believers. We are not just followers, but co-laborers with Christ, and lingering on the ways that we disagree can hinder our progress toward building His Kingdom!
REFLECT: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal if there are any ways you can better help the Church’s progress toward growing believers and reaching the lost. Ask Him to show you what it might look like to have supernatural peace in the midst of disunity and to convict you of any ways you may be avoiding unity with those around you, even unintentionally.
PRAY: Jesus, thank You for the gift of your Church and for the way it helps build my faith in You. I want to be a part of the Body that carries peace and plants seeds in those who don’t know You. Thank You for helping me see the importance of unity with those I may not agree with. I repent of the times when I’ve let my own opinions and preferences hold me back from loving others in the way that You would. Help me to love them and see them as Your precious children! In the name of the Prince of Peace, Amen!
READ: 1 Corinthians 3:3-9 (ESV)
“…for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”
This scripture reminds me that even the early church debated over their loyalty to different leaders and their understanding of theological practices. Paul illustrates through the metaphor of planting seeds that ultimately, no one leads us to salvation and freedom except God through His Son, Jesus. I was encouraged by reflecting on the image of gardening alongside fellow believers, some who may seem so different than myself, with a common goal of growing God’s field.
READ: Matthew 9:37-38 (ESV)
“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’”
Sometimes we need a reminder of just how crucial it is that we work in unity with fellow believers. We are not just followers, but co-laborers with Christ, and lingering on the ways that we disagree can hinder our progress toward building His Kingdom!
REFLECT: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal if there are any ways you can better help the Church’s progress toward growing believers and reaching the lost. Ask Him to show you what it might look like to have supernatural peace in the midst of disunity and to convict you of any ways you may be avoiding unity with those around you, even unintentionally.
PRAY: Jesus, thank You for the gift of your Church and for the way it helps build my faith in You. I want to be a part of the Body that carries peace and plants seeds in those who don’t know You. Thank You for helping me see the importance of unity with those I may not agree with. I repent of the times when I’ve let my own opinions and preferences hold me back from loving others in the way that You would. Help me to love them and see them as Your precious children! In the name of the Prince of Peace, Amen!
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1 Comment
Love this sentence- I repent of the times when I’ve let my own opinions and preferences hold me back from loving others in the way that You would. Thank you!