Uni[formi]ty
For a nation called the UNITED States of America, I believe we tend to have a very thin grasp on Unity. We are a nation of rugged individualism, a humanistic state that believes that man (nay, each man.... er... each human) is the measure of all things.
Although "Unity" has a nice ring to it, we fear that the prerequisite for Unity is Uniformity. And we've been taught since birth to be "true to ourselves" and "stand up for our rights." If Unity means Uniformity, it implies re-programming, brainwashing, and unquestioned obedience to a supreme dictator.
But look at how the word Unity is used in the Bible:
"Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord." -2 Chronicles 30:12
"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!" -Psalm 133:1
"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. " -John 17:23b
"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. " -Ephesians 4:3
Unity among diverse beliefs
Let's take that last one as an example. Paul is urging the Ephesians to maintain unity within the fellowship. This implies that there is a propensity toward division, likely because of differing beliefs, or interpretations of scripture. If, on every issue, there is a clear right and a clear wrong, why would Paul not just declare a winner, and require them all to get in line? The fact is that God wrote the Bible, not the 16 Fundamental Truths, or the Baptist Faith and Message, and we have to admit that there are points of the Bible on which thoughtful, humble, intelligent Christians disagree. Seeing as how God does nothing accidentally, I believe many of the ambiguities (not to be confused with "contradictions") in the Bible are intentional, to test our love and unity as we approach issues of secondary importance.
Unity among diverse roles
Paul goes on in Ephesians 4 to say that, although we share a common Lord, faith and baptism, we have each received grace as individuals. Not only that, but we have been called to serve God in a wide variety of ways. "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers..." He makes a similar point in I Corinthians when he talks about some being called to be hands, some to be feet, some to be eyes, etc. It is our job to discover this role for our own lives, and celebrate the fact that God didn't call us all to be hands, or nostrils, or prophets, or teachers.
The Catch
Even if we, as Americans, had a proper understanding of unity (that brainwashing is not required,) many of us would still reject it. Why? Because there is only one way to acheive unity. The verse that precedes Paul's call to unity in Ephesians describes it well, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." This is the catch... the cost of unity. Jesus joins Paul in attempting to teach us this attitude - Why not rather be wronged than to jeopardize the unity of the body? Why not rather be defeated? Why not rather be disrespected or humiliated?
Increase in us, Lord, and may we decrease.
1 Comments:
I'm sure this is merely a teaser and that you all will likely address the points I'm about to bring up, so fill me in.
I do want to caution us against a Jeffersonian view of scripture, which I feel we are on the verge of. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this bit of history, Thomas Jefferson took issue with portions of scripture he deemed "secondary", and indeed took it much further than that to say that they were false. He literally cut out of his Bible every portion of scripture in which a miracle occured.
Now, obviously, this is a rather extreme position, but I feel that we dance with this type of mindset when we claim that some portions of God's word are less important or profitable than others. I am reading through 2 Kings currently, and let me tell you, it's less stimulating than Deuteronomy or Leviticus by far. But does that mean it's less important than, say, Romans? I think not. Likewise, I think you'd have a difficult time making a Biblical case for the fact that certain issues therein are less important for the Church than others.
That said, I believe Paul wanted unity even while people were disagreed on certain matters. But he did not wish for them to avoid such debates in order to make everything seem harmonious.
The second thing I'd like to point out is that, in the Body of Christ, there is no room for letting others trample oneself. Paul clearly admonishes us to go to our brothers and sisters when they wrong us to clarify, confess, and be reconciled. In fact, we are to do so as quickly as possible. The Bible teaches us not to let the sun set while we are still angry with someone. In other words, now is always the time to approach someone when you have a grievance with them. Granted, you want to make sure your own conscience is clear, that you've allowed your emotions to settle, and taken time to think about how you should approach them.
All this said, we should expect that maintaining unity is very hard work. It is not an avoidance of conflict, and it is not a diminishing of the importance of parts of God's word.
7:16 AM
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