My way or the highway??? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 133:1,

"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!"

Here is a truth that needs no definition, no scrutiny and no
explanation. It's veracity is found in simply living our lives and
experiencing what we know to be true: it is good and pleasant when
living together in unity. We all enjoy life in a fuller and more
pleasant way when we do so in unity, in harmony, when we all are
getting along well together. The difficult times in relationships are
when we are at odds with one another, at each other's throats.
Additionally, we accomplish so much more together.

David adds a bit of dimension here: "brothers". The difficulty found
in disunity is made all the greater when that disunity is between
brothers. It is when we as "brothers" in disunity can find some things
important to us become threatened or lost. We all know how important
the collective of others with us is when we pursue those things in
life that are bigger than any one of us, those things that require
several or many to accomplish. These are the things that become
jeopardized when we fall into disunity. On a small scale, a group
outing or family vacation. On a bigger scale, a business partnership
or family owned business. Churches, charitable organizations, and
political groups all become threatened when unity is lost and factions
and disputes reign.

There is much said about this in the Scriptures, along with
exhortations for the people of God to retain unity in their pursuit of
him and his agenda. The one prayer of Jesus of any length recorded for
us in John 17 focuses on this unity. In his prayer for those of us in
our day he said "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for
those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them
may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they
also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I
have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we
are one: I in them and you in me. 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."

Paul condemned the loss of unity in the church in Corinth, "I appeal
to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of
you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you
and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers,
some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels
among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, 'I follow Paul';
another, 'I follow Apollos'; another, 'I follow Cephas'; still
another, 'I follow Christ.' Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for
you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?" 1 Corinthians 1:10-13.

God's agenda of building his kingdom here on earth is not furthered
when the "brothers" are not living in unity. It is therefore no
surprise we find Satan busy at work fomenting suspicions, creating
doubts, pulling folks in different directions within the church. For
me, as I look at the array of denominations, the fractious differences
in theologies, the following of personalities, the different notions
of God and his agenda, it is not a "rich diversity" providing strength
to the gospel enterprise that I see. What I see is the dirty work of
Satan within the church leading all too many of those who fail, for
one reason or another, to mature in their salvation.

What is needed is to heed the words of the writer of Hebrews. "We have
much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow
to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you
need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over
again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being
still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about
righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use
have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." Hebrews
5:11-14.

May we all, including myself, mature in righteousness that we may
attain to the unity the Lord prayed for us and so be effective in
furthering the kingdom of God. Unity is good for the pleasantness it
brings, but it also strengthens our effectiveness for the Lord, and
that unity must be based on a maturity gained through our training in
the Scriptures.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com