Footsteps #122

“Has Christ been divided?” Paul asks (1Cor 1:13) Christian unity finds its source in the worship of one Lord. “Was Paul crucified for you?”  The level ground at the foot of the cross underlines the fact that we are one.  “Were you baptized in the name of Paul?”  We have all participated in the cleansing waters of “one baptism” and were baptised in the name of Christ.  These realities of our faith unite us.  However, we must not only celebrate such unity as an article of faith, but we must also work toward it in practical ways.  Paul calls believers to turn the union that is already theirs into reality. This, however, does not mean we all have to think and act alike. When people ask me to explain why there are so many denominations, the simplistic answer is to say that churches are like cars, we all have our preferences, but they do the same job in the end. 

 If there is anything in our world that should inspire enthusiasm and unity, it is the cross of Calvary.  Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of ^[a]God! (1John3:1NKJV.) We are not to recognize true wisdom by the quality of its rhetorical manifestation or its level of acceptance by the world at large but by its ability to transform lives and to reflect accurately the wisdom God revealed in His Son, Jesus Christ crucified. (see 1:25)  

Regarding Christian unity, we have an enemy who is constantly seeking to introduce distrust, alienation, and malice amongst God’s people. We are sometimes tempted to think our rights are invaded, even when there is no real cause for such feelings. As soon as love for self is stronger than love for Christ we are lead to place our own interests first and will resort to guarding and maintaining them. Even those who appear to be conscientious Christians can be hindered by pride and self-esteem from going privately to those who we think have wronged us, as Jesus counselled in Matt 18:15-20. Paul showed his astonishment that some even were taking each other to court.