In Search of Unity

"He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him," 1 Colossians 1:17-19

"After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰for we are members of his body." Ephesians 5:29,30

We are one body. The church is one body, and Christ is the head. Let's think about this "body" for a minute, because I think the fact that the church is described as a body says a lot about how the church should be. A human body is a very unique creation. There are so many various parts and pieces, and yet, they all work together to make the body function. Every piece, every bone, muscle, tendon, and organ are integral to having the body work at it's best. Yet these parts are very, very different. Toe bones are completely different from the pituitary gland. The ear is completely different from the large intestine, and so on. The point is that each and every part is unique unto itself and performs a different function. Now let's think again about that body of Christ.

Let's think about the fact that there are some churches who focus on helping the poor and needy. There are some churches who are seeker-friendly, trying to reach out to everyman. There are those churches who are full of the quiet ones, who are quietly reverent in prayer and meditation. There are churches who are very blessed musically, and churches who are very blessed with a whole congregation of young people aching for Jesus. There are churches who are primarily filled with the elder generation, praising God with hymns and the King James Bible, and there are churches whose primary focus is kids, and sharing Jesus in videos and music. I could go on all day about the different kinds of churches there are, but the point is that we are all different, yet important. We are all different parts of the body, but we are all necessary to making the body function. No one church, no one group of people is "the" group of people who are the body of Christ. Together, all the churches make up one body, yet we are not working together as a body, and that is a shame.

I remember growing up, witnessing to my friends at school, because I was under the impression that if they weren't going to my church, they weren't going to go to heaven. It's no wonder they would get angry with me every time I talked about it. Because they were going to churches, but they were different, and somehow I was lead to believe that only our church was the right church. Every once in a while I think about that and I pray that my zealousness did not turn them away from God for forever. The thing to remember, and the important thing to realize is that we all worship the same God. Sometimes, our worship may be different, sometimes, even the way we dress may be different, but that doesn't make one church wrong and one church right, it simply makes them different, and right for the people who attend that church.

Just imagine what The Church could accomplish if we could take off our blinders and work together. Just imagine what a single community would be like if the four churches within would work together for the common purpose of saving souls. The problem is that we get caught up in all the legalities of our churches. We get stuck on the fact that theses are our rules and laws we adhere to, but the other church has a different set of rules. We get stuck on the idea that our way is the best way, and because that church doesn't tell their young women to wear skirts, they're missing the boat to heaven. And that's just not so. I was reading in Isaiah yesterday, and I read these verses, and my heart just broke, because it's so true.

"The Lord says:
"These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is made up only of rules taught by men." Isaiah 29:13

We get so focused on the rules that we don't see the big picture. And even worse, we focus on everyone else's adherence to the rules, and not even our own. We talk behind their backs because someone saw them put out a cigarette but in the parking lot. We gossip about so-and-so being seen coming out of a bar last weekend. We shake our heads in shame because that young couple got married and allowed dancing at their wedding. When really, we should be looking at ourselves, at our hearts, and see if we are where God wants us to be.

As I have been opening up more and more to God and what He wants from me, one thing has become very clear to me, and that is that He works on different people in completely different ways. Just as our churches are different parts of the body, within, we as individual people are even more different- we are the cells and the atoms that make up the body part, and each one, while a part of the whole, is different. So when God calls my brother in Christ to stop drinking completely, that may not mean the same for my sister on the other side of the room who is having a glass of wine with her dinner. God may call another woman to grow her hair long and put on a head covering, because those actions will mean something to her and those around her. At the same time, God may call another woman to let her hair loose and dance with abandon before Him. Are any of these things wrong? Of course not, but they are different, and we have become a people where "different" may confuse us or scare us even.

The different body parts of the body of Christ are different! Yet we all work together for the common good! I have had the wonderful pleasure as of late to get to know people from all different walks of faith, but they are all full of the love of Jesus and that is what is the important part. The system, the list of rules that helps them get in a frame of mind to love God, is important to them, and that is what matters. I can open up my Bible and find dozens of verses that tell me that I am where I am, that I am to be at home taking care of the household. At the exact same time, I can also open up my Bible and read a dozen verses that tell me to "go into all the world." So which one is right? Is one more right because it's in the New Testament? Is one more right because it's what the rest of my church family believes? I happen to think they are both right, and that during the different seasons of my life, there will be times to be at home, and there will be times to travel the world, sharing God's Love. I think there are seasons in my life where I will read Proverbs 31 and want, more than anything to be that perfect wife of noble character. And at the same time, there will be seasons where I feel more like Deborah, where I'm ready to take charge and assert myself for a greater body of people than just my family.

I have to tell you, I applaud everyone I ever come across who shares their faith and why they believe the way they believe. I love hearing about all the wonderful things God does for these people as a result of their obedience to what He is telling them. God does reward obedience, and when God is telling you to turn off that TV, the reward from God is so much greater than the reward of finding out which person wins that contest. When God is telling you to trust Him with your finances, the rewards are so beyond money and having your bills taken care of. When God is telling you to put down the fairy tales and pick up His Word instead, you know there is some fantastic nourishment in the Word that you are going to be reading. When God tells you to trust Him with how many children you are going to have, you know that he's got heaps of blessings for you because he knows your heart and knows that it takes such a precious and special person to raise all those wonderful blessings. And when God tells you that you are to abstain from marriage and children, you can know that he has something very special in mind for you, because God's Word says it is true!

We are all different! But we are all beautiful and wonderful in the unique way that God created us. The rules and the regulations, the legalism if you will, is not what is important. It's not important how others perceive us either, what is important is how God perceive us, how God perceives our heart. Each one of us has a different part to play out in the body of Christ, and instead of fighting with each other over who is right, I really feel that God is calling on us to reach out to each other and work together for the sake of the world who so desperately needs Jesus.

I'm ready to play my part, how about you?