One....
Ephes. 4:1-6 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. [2] Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. [3] Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. [4] There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— [5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism; [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
One….
When we are of one heart, one mind, one purpose we can achieve much. Look at teams that are united behind their coach, political parties that unite around their leaders, churches that unite around their God and the mission of their Lord….
When we are together we can achieve goals we never could if we were working by ourselves – or even against each other.
You see this is the tradgedy of division. The energy, time, creativity and emotional effort that is wasted in conflict, of trying to put forward our own agendas and ambitions at the expense of others, are vital resources that could be have been better spent furthering the work of God, alongside others. And now it can’t, because it’s gone, spent, frittered away.
Division comes from ego, an unwillingness to submit to others, even an unwillingness to submit to God. Division usually comes from pride, aggression, impetuousness, and indifference. And it is easy to see how the devil can fuel those passions.
Unity comes when a community seeks the face of God, and together discerns his will. In the end our purpose comes from him, in whom we live and move and have our being. When we do this we find it is not our agendas that we are pursuing, but his, and we do pursue it together.
It’s probably impossible to be in a community and never experience conflict. But when it rears its ugly head we should learn to seek God’s face and receive from his hands before we let division waste our time and energy, and scar our relationships….
One….
When we are of one heart, one mind, one purpose we can achieve much. Look at teams that are united behind their coach, political parties that unite around their leaders, churches that unite around their God and the mission of their Lord….
When we are together we can achieve goals we never could if we were working by ourselves – or even against each other.
You see this is the tradgedy of division. The energy, time, creativity and emotional effort that is wasted in conflict, of trying to put forward our own agendas and ambitions at the expense of others, are vital resources that could be have been better spent furthering the work of God, alongside others. And now it can’t, because it’s gone, spent, frittered away.
Division comes from ego, an unwillingness to submit to others, even an unwillingness to submit to God. Division usually comes from pride, aggression, impetuousness, and indifference. And it is easy to see how the devil can fuel those passions.
Unity comes when a community seeks the face of God, and together discerns his will. In the end our purpose comes from him, in whom we live and move and have our being. When we do this we find it is not our agendas that we are pursuing, but his, and we do pursue it together.
It’s probably impossible to be in a community and never experience conflict. But when it rears its ugly head we should learn to seek God’s face and receive from his hands before we let division waste our time and energy, and scar our relationships….
Sorry this is a bit late - upload problems....
posted by Gordon at
11:28 am
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