Unity

Good morning everyone,

Welcome once again to another blog post. Today, I want to discuss the issue of unity. I'm sure you will all agree with me that so much has been said and done about unity, but I want to bring out some thoughts concerning this very important part of our christian lives.

In Psalm 133, the bible has something to reveal about what biblical unity is all about.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing— Life forevermore.

When I view unity from a secular view point, there is so much of that happening in the world. People unite together over a cause. There are people who unite politically. There are also people who unite together for terrorist purposes.

The unity that I want to talk about is the unity that exists in the realm of the Spirit of God. It is the essence of knowing Jesus and sharing Him with one another.

Two words stick out in the above passage of scripture..... Good and Pleasant.

Good reminds me of the goodness of God. Without unity we will not experience the full extent of God's goodness to us.

Then the word pleasant. The Hebrew meaning of pleasant is "sweet". There is a sweetness of God's presence that permeates the atmosphere when we are united together because of Jesus.

Here are some thoughts about unity.

1. Unity comes through agreement.
   * The bible says, "How can two walk together unless they agree". Agreement is necessary for us to be in unity together.
2. Unity also comes through us walking in love with one another. This is actually how unity is achieved among us.
3. Another way in which unity is achieved is by each christian discerning the body of Christ.
   * We are bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh.
   * When all the body's organs are functioning correctly and in unison, then the body is healthy, but if one or more organs, don't function with the rest of them, then the body will get sick.
   
4. Remember that strife is the enemy of unity.
   * If we deal with strife, we will be able to come into unity in the Lord.
5. Unity also comes through submission one to another
   * Over the years, submission has been so misunderstood. I've heard of people who were told that they must submit no matter what.
   * I believe that submission can only happen when there is an atmosphere of love and trust that exists among people.
   * Wherever there is suspicion, submission is violated.
6. Unity attracts the goodness of God
7. Unity attracts the blessing of God
8. Unity attracts the presence of God too.
9. Doctrines and theologies divide us, but love unites us.
10. In speaking of the body again, if our immune system is down, then we are open to invasion and attack from disease and sickness causing viruses and germs.
    * Love is like the immune system of the body of Christ. It enables us to ward off disease and illness.

In our passage above we also see that unity is like the oil that flows down from the head of the high priest, down his beard and to the edge of his garments. Jesus is our high priest and when there is unity among us, it causes the oil to flow from Jesus the head, down onto the body of Christ.

The garments speaks of humility. The anointing oil of the Holy Spirit can only flow on top of humility. When we are clothed with humility, then the anointing oil of God can flow.

Oil is also a symbol of wealth. I mean spiritual wealth. The abundance of oil indicates how rich we are in the spiritual.

In the scripture above I also see a reference to Dew.

Dew is symbolic of favour and the blessing of God. God commands His blessing and favour when we have unity among us. Dew is moisture that lingers. We need the lingering presence of God upon our lives at this time.

Lastly, the reference to life means that when God commands His blessing on us, it always flows out of His presence. When we have the presence of God upon us, life will flow out of us to others.

Strife, offence, unforgiveness, criticism,bitterness and resentment will stop the flow of the oil and the descending dew of God from coming upon us.

As you walk through this day, make sure to walk in love with your brothers and sisters in Christ and to keep the unity of the Faith.

Hope you all have a blessed day.

Much love,

Rory