Unity

We’re not talking about small town Saskatchewan.

We’re not talking about peace.

We’re not talking about marriage.

More than anything we’re talking about differences.

Anytime somebody brings up unity it tends to evoke feelings about one of the first three, but very rarely is it associated with differences, unless of course, we’re talking about how to get rid of any differences that we might have.

Throughout the scriptures we see unity being described as the way that we celebrate and utilize our differences. Not that we ignore them and pretend that we’re all the same, but rather that we acknowledge our differences and use them in a beneficial manner.

One of the best examples of this is found in Ephesians 4:1-16

In the beginning of this passage we see unity described in a manner to which we are accustomed: one body; one spirit; one Lord; one faith; one baptism; one God. And that is definitely the root of our understanding of unity. We believe that we all put our faith in the same God who is Lord over all. We confess weekly that we are all connected through one baptism; the baptism that was instituted by Christ and brought to each of us by the Holy Spirit. But what makes unity so unique is what happens next.

Verses 11 and following outline all the ways that we are different. All of the different gifts are laid out and it is pointed out that it is only through the presence of these differences that we can truly see unity.

This idea isn’t limited to just this one passage of scripture, however. Probably the best known example of this is found in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 where we hear the discussion about the body of Christ. We’re made aware that the body doesn’t function when all the parts desire to fulfill the same role.

Just the same, the church doesn’t work when all the members desire to fill the same role.

When we all sit back and want to be served, we see a church that is stagnant and full of complaints, but no solutions.

When we desire to all be a part of evangelism and neglect the necessity of education, we see a church that balloons in size, but then dies because there is no room for growth.

We are all given different things that we are good at. As veggie tales famously points out, “God made you special.” You were created in a way that no one else was. If you were created in a way that is different than everyone else, why would you assume that you were supposed to be doing the same thing as everyone else?

I’m always amazed at people who can use their talents in such amazing ways to serve God. Looking through our music cabinet at the church, there are so many songs that are written by the people in our congregation, and they are dang good songs. There are wooden fixtures throughout the church that express our faith through the intricacies of the church member who created them. There are annual occasions which we enjoy the fruits…err…meats of the hunting endeavors of other members too.

This is unity; the realization that we are all a part of one faith, one baptism, one church, but that we were not all created the same. Through our differences, and as a result of the desire to use these differences to build one another up, we have unity. Not that we are all the same, not because we have skills and abilities that can only be used outside the church but the fact that who we are, what we do is tied to the church and to all those around us. Our unity is not just that hour on Sunday, but it is our whole life, everything that we do, and everything that Christ has done through us.