January 25, 2011 … Diligently Preserving Unity

Passage of the Day: Ephesians 4: 3 – NIV 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4: 3 – NASB … being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

My Journal for Today: Paul’s exhortation of due diligence toward worthiness as a Christian in Eph. 4: 1 – 3 has now culminated in a charge that becomes the outcome command of Christians individually and collectively walking in worthiness to Christ’s sacrifice … i.e., in Christlikeness. Our charge here, by today’s passage in third verse of Ephesians 4, is to keep the unity that God’s Spirit needs to bring God’s love to a love-starved world …to bring Christ’s light to a sin darkened culture. And God has been saying, through the Apostle Paul, that this unity of Spirit will not happen unless we, as Christians, can walk intentionally and diligently with discipline in humility, meekness, patience, and forebearing love.

Christ prayed (in John 17: 20, 21 – below) that His Church would be one in Spirit.

>>> SCRIPTURE: John 17: 20 … "My prayer is not for them [Christ’s core disciples] alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message [for the Church], 21 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.”

When a world, filled with discord, strife, and greed, sees the selfless love of Christ being lived out in a UNIFIED Church, Christ’s Body becomes a beacon of light shining into the darkness (see also John 13: 34, 35 and Matt. 5: 16); and we know that light always dispels darkness.

However, as we’ve seen, our unity in the church depends upon a collective presence and expression of God’s love whereby individual believers, working in unity, and glow with their collective individual qualities of Christlikeness, which we’ve been discussing, … shining their lights TOGETHER, powered by humility, meekness, patience, and selfless love … TOGETHER.

Yes, I said it; and it deserves repetition; … such expression, … the consistent, worthy walk of a Christian, … requires discernment, decision, discipline, and diligence so that we – as a Church – can walk TOGETHER in the unity of grace provided by God’s Spirit; … and the outcome is living a life of effective worthiness in Christ. Can we imagine the Spirit power of a large cohort of worthy Christian warriors walking in unison and accord in this word? Oh what as light – Christ’s Light – we would be!

My Prayer Today: Let it begin with me, Lord. Amen