Unity, not uniformity
John 18:23 " 'I in them and You in Me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.' "
Before His crucifiction, Jesus prayed for the disciples. One of the things He prayed for was unity, as a testimony to the world of Christ's mission and the Father's love. Notice that He didn't simply ask for unity and then stop His prayer. He asked for unity around the central messages that needed to be shared with unsaved people.
It is important for us to differentiate between "unity" and "uniformity". These two concepts are not the same. Unity means a common belief in a central truth. The details are undefined. Uniformity is more specific, meaning that things are said and done in the same way by all. Which of these did Jesus pray for? Which of these did He not pray for?
It's the one Jesus did not pray for that often trips us up. We get uncomfortable and judgmental when we see or hear another group of believers not acting or worshipping the same way we do. We tend to think they are doing it wrong, which must mean that they are misguided and don't have a "true" relationship with God. How can we truly assess that? How do we know we aren't the misguided ones?
Jesus calls us to have a personal relationship with God. Someone may outwardly do things like we do, but not have a personal relationship with God. Isn't this the person we are more likely to get along with versus the person who looks different than us and worships God in a completely different way than we do? What if the latter person does, in fact, have the personal relationship that God calls us to? Not accepting that person shows that we are more focused on uniformity than unity.
The vine and the branches are often used as a description of our relationship to Christ. But it also gives us important insight into our proper relationship with other believers. All branches are connected to the vine. The vine is what sustains the branches and gives them life. A branch doesn't draw its life from the other branches. In fact, the branches aren't even connected to one another. Further, one branch doesn't look exactly the same as any other branch. The branches are not uniform in appearance, qualities, position, etc. They are all unified, however, by their individual connections to the vine.
Strive for unity, not uniformity, with fellow believers. This is how Jesus says we will most effectively glorify God in the world.
Before His crucifiction, Jesus prayed for the disciples. One of the things He prayed for was unity, as a testimony to the world of Christ's mission and the Father's love. Notice that He didn't simply ask for unity and then stop His prayer. He asked for unity around the central messages that needed to be shared with unsaved people.
It is important for us to differentiate between "unity" and "uniformity". These two concepts are not the same. Unity means a common belief in a central truth. The details are undefined. Uniformity is more specific, meaning that things are said and done in the same way by all. Which of these did Jesus pray for? Which of these did He not pray for?
It's the one Jesus did not pray for that often trips us up. We get uncomfortable and judgmental when we see or hear another group of believers not acting or worshipping the same way we do. We tend to think they are doing it wrong, which must mean that they are misguided and don't have a "true" relationship with God. How can we truly assess that? How do we know we aren't the misguided ones?
Jesus calls us to have a personal relationship with God. Someone may outwardly do things like we do, but not have a personal relationship with God. Isn't this the person we are more likely to get along with versus the person who looks different than us and worships God in a completely different way than we do? What if the latter person does, in fact, have the personal relationship that God calls us to? Not accepting that person shows that we are more focused on uniformity than unity.
The vine and the branches are often used as a description of our relationship to Christ. But it also gives us important insight into our proper relationship with other believers. All branches are connected to the vine. The vine is what sustains the branches and gives them life. A branch doesn't draw its life from the other branches. In fact, the branches aren't even connected to one another. Further, one branch doesn't look exactly the same as any other branch. The branches are not uniform in appearance, qualities, position, etc. They are all unified, however, by their individual connections to the vine.
Strive for unity, not uniformity, with fellow believers. This is how Jesus says we will most effectively glorify God in the world.
posted by Robert Jory Allen at
7:25 AM
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