Signs of Unity
Welcome to Peniel CrossRoads, where we embrace Jesus’s heart and together live out the call to biblical unity!
Unity is something you easily recognize when you encounter it. If unity isn’t noticeably present you may not miss it, but when it’s there, you definitely sense a marked difference. Maybe that’s because the most apparent sign of unity is the presence of the Holy Spirit and love shared between Christian brothers and sisters.
It was on a brief visit to a familiar church in the Southern U.S. that I had a profound encounter with the Spirit’s presence. We had visited this church before, but only as guest speakers. We had not previously participated in the life of the church until last Wednesday.
Although a welcoming environment, nothing was particularly remarkable about the facilities, or the music (there wasn’t any), or the ministers. The evening’s format was quite simple; children and teens had their own venues while a small group of adults met for prayer and sharing.
Over the next hour and a half, signs of unity gradually became evident.
Adults visited in the kitchen before children arrived, and a volunteer drove the bus that delivered the kids. A basic meal was offered for kids who came from a nearby apartment complex.
I learned how most of the kids had started coming. One of the church members living in this apartment complex had an idea to set out a picnic blanket on the grass during the 2020 pandemic. Two other ladies from the church joined her to interact weekly with the kids who ventured outside to play. Gradually, they built relationships with the kids and their parents, invited them to church, and now a van-full of young children arrived for Wednesday night children’s hour.
A young family, newly added to the group, glowed with a sense of belonging and beloved-ness, showing signs of joyous living from their growing faith. Visible expressions of sincere love were exchanged with church members, whether they were newer or older in the faith.
As we gathered to pray and focus on the goodness of God through Scripture and reflection, the atmosphere continued to change. Heartfelt, honest professions of faith were offered with prayers of sincere gratitude. The content of prayers revealed heart postures overwhelmed by the gifts of a loving Savior: gifts of undeserved salvation, restoration and physical healing. To be sure, prayers of intercession were prayed, but more than intercession, their expressions were characterized by unencumbered adoration and thanksgiving.
After prayer, personal testimonies flowed in response to the question: “Why do you love God?” Those who shared spoke with such unadorned transparency, showing no fear of what others thought or attempts to prove oneself. One person testified to having given total control of her life to God. The affirmations from others and the sense of peace that accompanied these declarations affirmed that the Spirit was indeed pleased.
Pure confessions of the work of the Spirit in lives of believers got me to thinking: what was the source of this profound unity? Why was this gathering of people characterized by such a pervading sense of peace and belonging?
Perhaps it was that they were concentrated on following the Lord’s command to love one other. Love was clearly at work in their relationships. There was a gentleness and a peaceable-ness that flowed between their exchanges. It was as if they took seriously Jesus’s command, “Love one another as I have loved you.”
Or perhaps it was their passion for mission. They were focused on others and not themselves.They looked for opportunities to join God in going to others and bringing them into God’s Family. They didn’t see mission as something one does overseas, but something each of us is called to do right where we are.
More correctly, however, I believe one of the main reasons for this unity was the conviction that each one is a recipient of grace and undeserving of lavish, divine Love. Not only were they grateful people, they had removed the barriers that too often keep us from seeing others as similar to ourselves. Competition had no room to find a wedge, as they sought only to serve one another in love, acknowledging the presence of the Risen Christ among them.
In the end, we are all undeserving recipients of this bountiful grace and Love, no matter how long we have walked with our Savior. May we express this Spirit-love back to our Lord by loving one another with selfless abandon.
Lord, I am willing to be a messenger of your reconciliation and agent of unity! Remind me, Lord, of all I have received as a free gift because of the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ Jesus. Teach me, Holy Spirit, to abide in You so that, in all things, You will be praised. In the mighty Name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head…For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.”
Psalm 133:1-3
For Jesus’ Sake,
Chris & Julie