Unity

The problem that happens when people try to do something together, all with different ideas about how to do a thing, or varying levels of energy, is that, instead of recognizing the differences as just that: different, we start comparing and ascribing worth to those things. Whether I have a degree from one institution or you have training from another matters not one iota if you, filled with the Spirit of God, show effective compassion on a hurting soul – and I, Paul says, am like a clanging cymbal, without love. We are enriched in every way: in speech and in knowledge of every kind! And we are not lacking in any. spiritual. gift. And this is true for everyone. All are created in God’s image – through Christ, our Redeemer, sustained by the Spirit. All are enough. But we are more of who we are together. And we are only effective if we are unified in the project. But how can we be unified when we are quibbling over bits of doctrine that do not speak to God’s love and salvation through Jesus? How can we be unified if we are put off by the way someone looks, or where he lives, or if she has as much energy to do as you much as you or I? Romans 12:5 “so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.” My degrees and anything I’ve written always began as a means to promote the building of the kingdom of God, the kingdom that is already at hand, and to follow Jesus in the healing of every kind of illness. When I start comparing my book sales to another’s, or succumb to self-loathing because I didn’t finish the degree program that might have given me a better position or platform – then anything I do or say is a squeaky, annoying ukulele. (see Abiyoyo) There are so many ways we recognize difference. We are uniquely created in God’s image – each expressing God’s character in a unique way. It is crucial we honor those differences. AND, we are members of one another, and exhorted to “be united in the same mind and the same purpose. Because when we are of the same mind and purpose, honoring difference while refraining from categorizing, belittling, scorning those differences, when we regard as holy and sacred our shared baptism and membership of one another, it is a unity that is just and righteous. It is just unity. read more