It seems to me that we are living in especially chaotic times. The news of natural disasters, weather events or human tragedies often are reported in the superlative, “the worst…, the biggest…, the coldest…, the most….” A recent example of this is a CNN headline from two days ago. “Tonga eruption was ‘hundreds of times’ more powerful than Hiroshima atomic bomb.”
How do we remain tethered to our faith when so many around us are polarized and angry? Our enemy has been successful, even in the church, of turning brothers and sisters against each other. Recent political strife has drawn many of us into taking sides and vocalizing our conservative or progressive opinions on-line. Government and employment mandates regarding taking the COVID-19 vaccine or wearing masks have at times triggered feelings of resentment that often get played out within the fellowship of the church family.
When was the last time you prayerfully asked God what His will is for you regarding these things? Have you earnestly asked the Lord to purge your thoughts of selfishness and criticism?
Jesus, praying to the Father, says, “…That they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” John 17:22-23 ESV
Unity within the church is not something we can achieve by trying to get along. Christian unity is a gift the Holy Spirit brings when we are together surrendered to God. And unity, when everyone else in the world is quarreling, is a powerful testimony of the power of God’s love.
—Jim McMurry