Church members have a lot of misconceptions about Christian fellowship and Christian unity. The New Testament speaks much of being of one accord and being in unity. Agreement is not unity. Agreement can be simply a matter of behavior. Unity will involve attitude and heart. Unity will involve the spirit as well as the letter. The Bible is clear that unity is a gift from God, not something we conjure up. We are simply called to keep that which God has bestowed on us in His grace. We maintain unity simply by submitting to the same head (Christ). We will be in unity if we each have the same goal which must be to please Christ. We will be in unity if we direct all honor and glory and credit to Christ. We break the unity when we set ourselves up as the head. We break the unity when we rage or pout because we do not get the church job we wanted or when the credit goes to another. It seems to me that most of these issues are directly related to our not being committed to the same goal.
Personal preference supersedes advancing the Kingdom of God. Personal comfort takes precedence over spreading the gospel. Entertaining self becomes more desirable than pleasing the Savior. Getting one’s way takes priority over listening to the Holy Spirit.
God has blessed me with an incredible number and wide range of experiences. I have met many, many people in a vast array of situations. Some of those people have been mere acquaintances but several have become very close friends. Without question, I have the greatest affinity for those with whom I was in the greatest Christian unity and fellowship. That unity and fellowship was directly linked to the fact that each of us (at least for that point in time) had totally submitted to the same Head and our every action was aimed at pleasing that Head. That fact caused all perceived divisions to move completely out of sight and mind. Those individuals are without a doubt my closest friends no matter how long it has been since I have had contact with them. The occasions have been many and varied. No matter if it was Vacation Bible School, Fellowship of Christian Athletes events, church outreach programs, benevolence ministry, etc., those individuals with whom I have been yoked in self-less Christian service are dearest to me.
Psalms 133 speaks of a few of the benefits of godly fellowship and unity,“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron's beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon Coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing — life forever.” (NASU) The unity given by God is symbolized in this passage by the anointing of Aaron the High Priest. It is a pleasing, soothing gift from God. Certainly the dew from heaven is a soothing, freshening gift from God that descends upon all. It seems significant to me that God closes this brief psalm with this declaration, “there the Lord commanded the blessing — life forever.” The blessing, life forever, is found only in this unity which is accomplished only when individuals are brought into union with Christ. Our union with other individuals is only possible when we are each submitted to and in obedience to the same Master, Lord, Savior, Head. That is true blessing now and life forever.
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