101 Sermon Illustrations on Unity

One of the ancient Fathers replied to a clamorous disputant, who shouted, "Hear me, hear me!"—"I will neither hear thee, nor do thou hear me; but let us both hear Christ!"

Neutrality in things good or evil is both odious and prejudicial, but, in matters of an indifferent nature, is safe and commendable. Herein taking of parts maketh sides, and breaketh unity. In an unjust cause of separation, he that favoreth both parts may, perhaps, have least love of either side, but hath most charity in himself.

— Bp. Hall

Not Hercules himself could resist such odds. — Latin. — Three helping each other are as good as six. — Spanish. — Three brothers, three castles. — Italian. — Three, if they unite against a town, will ruin it. — Arabian.

Very true, there are minor differences, but yet there is real unity. Ours is not a unity like that of the waters of a stagnant pool, over which the purifying breath of heaven sweeps in vain. Ours is not the unity of darkness, like the cloud-covered midnight sky, where neither moon nor star appears. Ours is not a unity of a forced conformity, such as is found in polar seas, where eternal winter has locked up the waves in fetters; but, rather, the unity of evangelical Protestants is like the fountain flowing ever fresh and free from the rock; like the rainbow that combines the seven prismatic colors into one glorious arch of promise spanning the heavens; like old ocean's unfettered flow as its waves rush in all their majesty and might "distinct as the billows, but one as the sea." Weir.

When ministers pray before a business meeting, it's rare that anyone is asked not to show up. Yet that's exactly what happened recently at a gathering of — of all people — Anglican bishops.

I said “of all people” because the Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal Church here in the United States, values unity above almost everything else. They express this unity in the celebration of Communion, a rite that sends the message that, no matter how deep the disagreements may be, the participants are still one in Christ.

Imagine, then, the surprise felt by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, when he read a letter from Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola and other conservative bishops. Akinola warned Williams that “Third World archbishops would not celebrate Communion with U.S. Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold” at an upcoming meeting in Ireland.

The proximate cause of the crisis was the American church's consecration of an openly gay bishop, Eugene Robinson of New Hampshire. But, for Akinola and the others, this action is but a symptom of a much deeper malady.

As the former bishop of South Carolina, C. Fitzsimmons Allison, told columnist Terry Mattingly: It's difficult to celebrate Communion together when the participants don't share a common understanding of words like salvation, resurrection, marriage, or even God.

He's not exaggerating. He was once told by several American bishops that they “worshipped a god who is 'older and greater' than the God of the Bible.” Allison's word for this is the right one: apostasy.

This departure from the “doctrines that have united Christians through the ages” made Robinson's consecration possible. And it's why the North American churches have been “urgently requested” to “voluntarily withdraw their members from the Anglican Consultative Council.” To put in it “reality-television” terms: “Just leave quietly. Don't make us vote you off the island.”

While this may sound like Anglican “inside baseball,” there are important lessons here for American evangelicals. The first is Akinola's insistence that “unity of doctrine [precedes] unity of worship.” Or, Allison put it, “stronger stuff” than “appeals to human emotions” are what holds a church together.

If we're honest with ourselves, a lot of evangelical churches also avoid the “stronger stuff.” In this day of seeker-driven churches, what would people answer if you asked them to define resurrection, salvation, marriage, or God? Do we really want to know?

Another important lesson is the growing power of “Third-World” Christians. Akinola and company represent forty to fifty million, mostly active, Anglicans, some of whom risk their lives to practice their faith. Griswold represents two million, mostly nominal, Anglicans, many of whom reject the Bible.

As historian Philip Jenkins has written, the center of “gravity” of the Christian world has already shifted “southward.” These “southern” Christians are much more conservative regarding faith and morals, and their overwhelming numerical superiority makes it impossible to ignore what they are saying.

That's good, because we in the West need to hear what they have to say, starting with a reminder of why it is we pray together in the first place.

FOR FURTHER READING AND INFORMATION:

• Terry Mattingly, “Communion in the Anglican Communion?“ On Religion, 9 March 2005.

• Marite N. Sison, “Primates call for breathing space,” Anglican Journal, April 2005.

• “Archbishop Akinola: A Pastoral Letter to the Church,” Anglican Communion News Service, 18 March 2005.

• BreakPoint Commentary No. 040205, “As Long As We All Get Along: Selling Truth for Unity.”

• BreakPoint Commentary No. 030603, “Like It Or Not: Cardinal Arinze at Georgetown.”

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Copyright © 2005 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

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[Original illustration at this number was deleted for being obsolete]

Article on the proliferation of self-help groups across America. Looks at the principles that guide them, the good they do, and the various groups that exist.

The May 1987 edition of National Geographic included a feature about the arctic wolf. Author L. David Mech described how a seven-member pack had targeted several musk-oxen calves who were guarded by eleven adults. As the wolves approached their quarry, the musk-oxen bunched in an impenetrable semicircle, their deadly rear hooves facing out, and the calves remained safe during a long standoff with the enemy. But then a single ox broke rank and the herd scattered into nervous little groups. A skirmish ensued, and the adults finally fled in panic, leaving the calves to the mercy of the predators. Not a single calf survived.

Paul warned the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 that after his departure wolves would come, not sparing the flock. Wolves continue to attack the church today but cannot penetrate and destroy when unity is maintained. When believers break ranks, however, they provide easy prey.

At the battle of Chancellorsville in the Civil War, confederate general Stonewall Jackson was mortally wounded by his own troops. His last words as he lay dying in the bedroom of a nearby farmhouse were, "Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees."

In this sentence, perhaps the most famous dying utterance in American history, Jackson concentrated a lifetime of prayer and struggle and aspiration - his, and that of the young country he had fought to divide. So many crossed water to get here, so many wanted to rest under the shade.... In the staccato rhythm of the words I can see each step of the action. The sentence ascends in terraces to rest and peace, it undoes knots inside me, it exhales like a sigh. I can see the shining, whorled river sliding by and the gently rising bank and the shaded grass trodden down after a day-camp picnic, across the river and under the trees. I see the columnar trunks almost in a row and the high ceiling where the leaves begin and the sketchier clouds and sky, somewhere above. And then I get kind of carried away and I extend this landscape indefinitely in every direction and I imagine it as the new good place America in its best moments has hoped to be and I populate it from the whole globe and I fill it with faces like those in a poster from an old epic Western movie with cooking smells and music and maybe even a few car-burglar alarms for verisimilitude - I will spare you all the details. Suffice it to say that all of the drinking fountains work, across the river and under the trees.

Before the Civil War, America didn't know if it was a country or lots of different Promised Lands. People invented the America they wanted to live in and then struggled to live there. Across the river and under the trees combined all these invented countries into one. Across the river and under the trees descended like a beneficence in the last moments of a fierce man's life and crystallized his fierceness to purity. Across the river and under the trees carried no demurring subclauses or riders. It included us all - people Jackson considered infidels, men he would have shot unblinking in life. Across the river and under the trees was poetry equal to the nation-making poetry of Lincoln, and the only line of public poetry to come from the south in the war. Even though Stonewall Jackson fought for the Slave power and though his faith is beyond me and though ... the flag of his cause still scares me when I see it on the radiator grille of a truck in my rearview mirror and though I am more than glad his side lost, I dream of across the river and under the trees.

#3193

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Entwined They Stand

One of the wonders of the world is the Redwood Forest in California. Some of the trees are the oldest, largest, and tallest living things in all the world. Some of the trees are more than three hundred feet tall and more than twenty-five hundred years old. Think of that! Their existence goes back hundreds of years into B.C. They have weathered the ravages of time, holding up against all the combative elements. They stand tall in spite of opposing forces.

Unknowledgeable people immediately jump to the conclusion that the redwoods have a deep root system. To the contrary, their roots are shallow. What holds them? What supports them? Their root system entwines and locks each tree to the trees around it. They stand together, and that is the secret of their herculean strength. When wind and hail and upheaven threaten, no tree stands alone but rather is strengthened and supported by the others. Each is needed for the support of the whole grove. The redwoods can truly say, "United we stand, divided we fall."

How true of us! WE NEED THE HELP OF OTHERS! Even pigs in a litter lie close together to stay warm. Of course a man is grander and finer than a pig, but it is still a cold world out there for him if he's standing alone.

One of the blessings of the church is its fellowship in which we have the entwining of each other and of the Lord. Locked together we can withstand the storms of life. Unquestionably, "two are better than one" (Ecc. 4:9).

--The Informer, New Albany, MS

"And when the Day of Pentecost was fully come, they were NOT all gathered together in one place. They

had intended to be there but so many things interferred. Actually only 76 of the 120 could make it, and for some very good reasons too! Peter and his wife had bought a camping outfit so they could get away from the city on weekends, and they had gone to Lake Galilee. John just couldn't put off painting his backyard fence another day. Nathaniel needed to catch up on the books of his fig-brokerage business and Matthew was behind in his tax-collecting, having wandered around with Jesus for so long. Martha felt like a headache was coming on and she needed to do some house-cleaning anyway. James heard something like a mighty rushing wind, so he was afraid it might rain. So, you see, what with one thing and another, the crowd was just a bit sparse on that particular first day of the week.

Of course, that really shouldn't have hurt the church, because Philip, along with Thomas and Thaddaeus

and several others showed up and carried on valiantly. The multitude did recognize them as men who had been with Jesus and they did admire their devotion. However, the multitude also noticed that there used to be a lot more besides these, but evidently, this Jesus wasn't much of a Messiah since about half of his followers found other things more important than obeying his commands.

Still, about 1700 people were baptized and, following the example of many of Jesus' disciples, 941 of them

continued more or less steadfastly in some of the apostles' teaching, and occasionally breaking bread and

praying from time to time. A few even sold part of their possessions and gave them to the poor. But a

dispute arose about whether or not they ought to care for the Grecian widows and Stephen, who had been a real leader for a while, got so disgusted that he applied for a professor of history position at the Univ. of Jeru

salem. The last I heard, O Theophilus, they've dwindled down to about 456, but this number is divided into 4 or 5 groups, none of which has anything to do with any of the others."

They are cold killers. They show no mercy and they're virtually unstoppable. Most of them go undetected but they claim 200 victims every year, all around the world. It's no wonder they're called The White Death.

Experts say there are a million avalanches worldwide every twelve months. Get caught in one and you can expect to survive for only three hours. Even that seems miraculous considering the average slide unleashes 1,500 tons of snow travelling 150 miles an hour. Not only does an avalanche leave an astonishing path of destruction, it freezes and sets like concrete soon after it stops, forming an icy tomb for anything or anyone trapped below.

An avalanche happens when a strong layer of snow glides over a weak one. Incredibly, the precise shape of every single snowflake influences which layer will develop. When conditions are right, a slide can be triggered by the weight of fresh snow, the movement of a single skier or a small amount of snow falling from higher up the mountain. The gradual weakening of the older, underlying snow will also set one off. But until the final moment, the surface rarely betrays the coming danger.

So to protect themselves, those who live in the mountains sometimes detonate an unstable mass with grenade-like explosives, or special missiles fired at the snow with a modified bazooka. At least that way, the slide can be predicted and prepared for. Some mountain communities also build “wedges”, inverted V-shaped cement barricades that split an avalanche, protecting what's behind the walls.

Seems to me that, in many ways, we in the church are like the mountain snows. We rest on the immovable Rock, but our situation is always changing. At any given time, the cross-sections of our congregations will reveal the weak and the strong and it's sobering to realize that the spiritual shape each of us is in determines which profile will dominate.

It's absolutely imperative that every Christian find an environment, not of fragility and volatility but stability; a solid base on which everyone can melt together into a balanced blanket of unity. But if those closest to the Rock become sufficiently weakened by sin or apathy, a congregation's vitality will give out and give way. The same thing will happen if new Christians make no effort to bond with those who arrived before them. Oh, the situation may look fine on the surface, but the slightest pressure will eventually be enough to trigger an avalanche of anger, pride and envy. Once things begin to slide out of control, both the guilty and the innocent will suffocate in sin's cold sarcophagus.

At the first sign of danger, we must find the courage to isolate and separate the threat of disharmony using the weapons of prayer and love. The risk is high but we know we can face any onslaught from behind the protection afforded by the Victory and inVincibility of Jesus. Even the withering White Death of the soul is no match for the awesome warmth of the Son.

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Rick Gamble, published in Cross Current, Brantford, ON October 11, 1998

"BTW.....where do you stand on circle drawing.....where do you draw yours?"

Scott:

Wrong model. You are working from the bounded community model, I assume an unbounded model.

Draw a circle on a piece of paper. The bounded community sees the circle as that which makes them a community. Those who are within the circle are part of the community (us), and those who are outside the circle are alien (them). Your model has boundaries that define the community.

The unbounded model draws no circles, it is directional. Draw a X on the circle and then draw a bunch of dots at varying distances from it. Now draw arrows on the dots indicating whether they are moving toward the X, away from the X, or circling the X. Those who are moving toward the X are the community, though some are very close and other very far away, & others in-between. Those who are moving away from the X are not a part of the community, though many may be closer to the X than some who are moving toward it.

My assumption is that those who are moving closer toward Christ (X) are a part of the community. Some of us are much closer than others reflecting a closer relationship with few of the distancing things in our lives such as attitudes, habits, mistaken doctrines and so forth that come between us and Christ. Some of us are quite far, but moving in the right direction w/ lots of distancing things coming between us through which we must struggle as we draw closer.

My view is that we all begin quite close to God in our innocence, and through sin begin to move away. Some of us get quite a way out there, some not so far, when through belief and repentance we change our direction and turn our faces back to Christ. Like the original Protestant grace guru Martin Luther, I believe that God accomplishes the rebirth via water baptism and it is that which propels us back toward Christ. From that time we are struggling through the distancing things in our lives to close the gap between us and Christ.

Some folks never make the turn and continue on away from Christ, others set their faces toward God yet never draw any nearer stuck in orbit about him. I.E. Orbiters = Mental assent w/out intent, & those who seek after god but not the God of the Bible, and so on.

Anyway, that's my understanding of the Christian community.

Now, it's your turn. 8-)

Yours

Scott P. Wiley

x6mcaul@lab2.cc.wmich.edu

In June 1983 Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf took command of Ft. Stewart, Georgia. Day after arriving S. went out for a AM run. Approached barracks near end of run; formation of troops raced by, led by a guy who looked like he belonged on the U.S. Olympic team. Turned around & saw those unable to keep up the pace. Leaders stopped at barracks, saluted. S. asked Co. commander what they were doing. CC: "Sir, we've just completed our 5-mile run." S.: "That's terrific, but what about all those people back there?" CC: "Sir, those are the guys who couldn't keep up." S.: "But you've run off and left them." CC gave puzzled look. S.: "Think of it this way ... suppose you're a new recruit, come to new unit after basic t., feeling good about being a soldier. Then you find out your unit does more running than you're used to. First day you're out with them, you reach your limit, but your unit keeps going and leaves you. WHAT KIND KIND OF UNIT COHESION DOES THAT BUILD?"

(It Doesn't Take A Hero, pp. 240-241).

An old man on the point of death summoned his sons around him to give them some parting advice. He ordered his servants to bring in a faggot of sticks, and said to his eldest son: "Break it." The son strained and strained, but with all his efforts was unable to break the Bundle. The other sons also tried, but none of them was successful. "Untie the faggots," said the father, "and each of you take a stick." When they had done so, he called out to them: "Now, break," and each stick was easily broken. "You see my meaning," said their father.

In the beginning, there was unity. The new immigrants had suffered Communist repression before coming to America. They loved their new country, their freedom to worship, and one another.

That is, they did until the serpent slithered into their garden.

The immigrants raised enough money to break ground on a lovely new sanctuary. “We were the happiest church ever,” recalls one longtime member.

But then a new pastor came. He told the congregation that if they wanted to expand their facilities, they would have to find a way to raise a lot of money. The church decided on bingo. And as Chuck Colson and Ellen Vaughn write in their new book, BEING THE BODY, the rest was history.

The church bingo games raised millions of dollars. Then the whispers began. Was all that money really going into the church coffers? An audit revealed that $53,000 was missing. The state attorney general was called. Someone hired a lawyer. One day, police arrived at the church to find fifty Christians duking it out with broken beer bottles.

More lawsuits followed, members were excommunicated, court orders were issued — and the local newspapers gleefully covered every bit of it.

While not everyone uses broken beer bottles, when it comes to heated church disputes, this congregation is not alone. According to one survey, at any given time, some thirty thousand Protestant churches are fighting about something. The problem has become so serious that seminaries now teach classes in conflict resolution.

Of course, churches have been fighting over doctrine — and everything else — for centuries. Sometimes debates are necessary. But as Colson and Vaughn note, “When we do this unlovingly ... we unleash our own base instincts. We become more strident to mask our own insecurity, and we use doctrinal disputes as an excuse to grab power.”

Worse, ugly power struggles are a terrible witness. When pollsters ask people why they don't go to church, the two top answers are: “All Christians are hypocrites,” and “Christians are always fighting with each other.”

This is why, when we disagree with our fellow Christian, we need to do it lovingly and graciously. Remember, Jesus said to His own squabbling disciples: “All men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”

We should also remember that differences among Christians are natural. Instead of fearing diversity in personality and passions, habits and hobbies, we need to find ways to use those differences for good. C. S. Lewis understood this. “The Church,” he said, “is not a human society of people united by their natural affinities, but the Body of Christ.... All members, however different ... must share the common life, complementing and helping one another precisely by their differences.”

Learn about how Christians can keep on loving one other — even when they're driving each other crazy. If our churches get written up in the newspapers, it shouldn't be for beating one another up, but because we “keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

FURTHER READING AND INFORMATION:

Charles Colson and Ellen Vaughn, BEING THE BODY: A NEW CALL FOR THE CHURCH TO BE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS (W Publishing, 2003).

Learn about the upcoming BEING THE BODY SEMINAR taking place May 18! To learn which church in your area is showing the seminar, call 1-800-321-6781.

C. S. Lewis, LETTERS OF C. S. LEWIS (Harcourt, 2002).

Steven G. Vegh, “BINGO: VICE OR VIRTUE?“ BELIEFNET.

Christine Scheller, “MISSING THE RUPTURE: HOW TWO GROUPS ADDRESS THE REAL ISSUES BEHIND CHURCH SPLITS,” CHRISTIANITY TODAY, May 9, 2003.

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Copyright (c) 2003 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #5189]

"Oh," said a woman to me the other day, "do you belong to us?"

"Well," said I, "who are 'us?' That is a new denomination to me. I

belong to Him." I like the Augustinian Creed: "A whole Christ for my

salvation, whole Bible for my study, the whole church for my

fellowship, and the whole world for my parish, that I may be a true

catholic and not a sectarian."

- Rev. Charles Inglis, in {Record of Christian Work}

\reference{Mark 9:38}{Mark 9:38}

Dr. J. H. Jowett spoke of the uniting of sundered people in these

words: "At low tide there are multitudes of separated pools along the

shore. At high tide they flow together, and the little distinctions

are lost in a splendid union. --Missionary Monthly

Faith unites us, and yet we are conscious of the division of time

and death. This thought is beautifully expressed by Charles Wesley:

One family we dwell in him,

One Church above beneath,

Though now divided by the stream,

The narrow stream of death;

One army of the living God,

To His command we bow:

Part of His host have crossed the flood,

And part are crossing now.

Shortly after the close of the Civil War, in a fashionable Richmond

church, members of the congregation were invited to come to the altar

rail to receive Holy Communion.

After several rows of worshipers came and left after receiving

Communion side by side, a black man walked down the aisle toward the

altar. A tense silence gripped everyone. No one got up to come down

to receive the bread and wine, although many had not yet received

Communion. The black man started to kneel alone.

Quietly, a tall, graying man with a military bearing stood up and

strode down the aisle to the black man's side. Together, they knelt.

Before the officiating clergyman could continue, people recognized

that the person kneeling beside the black man without showing any

distinction was General Robert E. Lee. Although Lee said nothing,

everyone realized he had shown his faith through his act of joining

that lonely black worshiper at the altar.

Lee's example is an example for all. We must not be content with

any system that divides us as fellow Christians. We must seek to

demonstrate our essential unity. Only then can we say truly: "We are

one in Christ."

John Wesley and George Whitefield were good friends in their earlier years, Wesley having begun his outdoor preaching ministry at Whitefield's encouragement. As time went on the men disagreed, with Whitefield leaning more heavily toward Calvinism than his younger friend's Armenianism. When Whitefield died, Wesley was asked if he expected to see Dr. Whitefield in heaven. In exaggerated but honest respect he answered, "No, he'll be so near the throne of God that men like me will never even get a glimpse of him!" Though differing, they did not lose their sense of oneness in Christ.

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Version from SermonCentral, 6/19/06

LOVING THROUGH CONFLICT

John Wesley and George Whitefield - the two great preachers of the 18th Century Evangelical Revival - were both great men of God. Sadly having been great friends at Oxford, they fell out over the Arminian/Calvinist debate. There was quite a bit of animosity between their followers.

Once one of Whitefield’s followers said to him: “We won’t see John Wesley in the heaven, will we?”

To which Whitefield humbly replied “Yes, you’re right, we won’t see him in heaven. He will be so close to the Throne of God and we will be so far away, that we won’t be able to see him!” What a lovely attitude Whitefield had.

Despite profoundly disagreeing with Wesley, Whitefield recognized John Wesley as being a man of God.

Indeed the respect for the other was so great that when Whitefield died in the United States, John Wesley preached at George Whitefield’s memorial service in London.

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Contributed by Martin Dale

At a college summer retreat out in the mountains of California soon after World War II, among those present were a young man who had flown in Hitler’s Luftwaffe, another who had flown with the Japanese, and a third who had been in the US Air Force and had bombed the cities of Germany. None of these knew that the others were present at the retreat, nor did they know each other, and none was a Christian.

At the final meeting, the traditional fagot service, when any person deciding to accept Christ and give his life to serve the Savior tossed a fagot or stick of wood on a bonfire symbolizing his life would now be given to burn for Christ, the German stood to accept Christ, walked to the fire and threw a fagot in; a few moments later, the Japanese; then following him, the American pilot, all receiving the Lord Jesus Christ.

Then the three ex-war pilots, with their arms around each other and tears streaming down their faces, sang with all those present,

Blessed be the tie that binds

Our hearts in Christian love.

Heathen people who observe brotherly love of Christians toward one another marveled at what they saw and cried out, “Behold, how they love one another!” The renowned Roman lawyer Marcus Minucius Felix, who lived in the second century, became a true Christian, and he testified of the early Christians: “They loved one another, even before knowing one another (personally).” Of course, many heathen people remained what they were and scoffed at Christianity. For example, Lucian, who also lived in the second century, and sneeringly wrote of them: “Their Master (Jesus Christ) has made them believe that they are all brethren.”

My Source: THE GOSPEL REMINDER

CHURCH OF CHRIST, Bay, Arkansas

September 20, 1998

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Author: Marvin Rickett

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File Under: UNITY or 1 CORINTHIANS 1:10

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BEING OF THE SAME MIND…

The Bible approves of being of the same mind, rather than the prevalent religious division which men strive in vain to justify. The apostle Paul urged the Corinthians to “be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Corinthians 1:10). The Bible compliments being of one mind, rather than “unity in diversity.” True, it tolerates diversity of opinion (Romans 14), and it even encourages diversity in functions (1 Corinthians 12), but it is ever working toward unity in agreement. Paul wanted to hear of the affairs of the Philippian Christians, that they “stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27).

The one mind that all Christians are to have is the mind of Christ: “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind” (1 Pt 4:1). It does little good for a group of religious people to be of the same mind in embracing a false doctrine or a counterfeit church. For all to have the mind of Christ, all must mind the things of Christ. All must walk by the same rule of Christ: “Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing” (Philippians 3:16).

Think of the pleasantness and thrill of being of the same mind! It would be the end of enmity and strife. There would be no parties or sects. We would be “likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind” (Philippians 2:2). Being of the same mind would solve some personal animosities. Paul wrote to two “feuding women” in Philippi: “I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord” (Philippians 4:2). Where all Christians are of the same mind, there is sweet fellowship.

Knowing that others are of the same mind is of great encouragement to us. It edifies the church. Our treatment of one another is improved. Paul urges, “Be of the same mind one toward another” (Romans 12:16). Peter says, “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous” (1 Pt 3:8).

When we have the same mind, we present a united front to the rest of the world: to the infidels, pagans, sinners. Since division and strife are instigators of unbelief, then having the same mind will contribute greatly toward belief (John 17:21).

Having the same mind will cause folks to work together in harmony for the kingdom of God: “Now the God of Patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Jesus Christ: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:5,Romans 15:6).

We can be of the same mind if we will follow the same rule (Philippians 3:16). The rule is the Bible, the word of God.

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Come visit us at: North Marshall church of Christ 3290 Palma Road Calvert City, KY 42029

1. We are one in the Spirit,

we are one in the Lord,

We are one in the Spirit,

we are one in the Lord,

And we pray that all unity may

one day be restored:

Chorus

And they'll know we are Christians

by our love, by our love,

Yes, they'll know we are

Christians by our love.

2. We will walk with each other,

we will walk hand in hand,

We will walk with each other,

we will walk hand in hand,

And together we'll spread the news that

God is in our land:

3. We will work with each other,

we will work side by side,

We will work with each other,

we will work side by side,

And we'll guard each man's dignity and

save each man's pride:

4. All praise to the Father,

from whom all things come,

And all praise to Christ Jesus,

His only Son,

And all praise to the Spirit,

who makes us one:

[Tune “St Brendan’s”]

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In philosophy class, students are often asked: What was it that existed after 585 B.C., but not before, and began at the ridiculous hour of 6:13 P.M.? Part of the answer is that a solar eclipse occurred. The unique phenomenon in this case is that a man named Thales had predicted it. It was Thales' love for ordered knowledge that gave birth to philosophy.

But Thales fervently sought the answer to another question. He knew the world was made of an infinite variety of things - plants, animals, clouds. What, he wondered, was the one basic element that pulled it all together? Thales thought that element must be water, but his students went on to expand the underlying reality to four elements - earth, air, water, and fire. Since then the quest for the philosopher has been to find unity in diversity.

This very search has made inroads into our cultures. For example, the word quintessence literally means "the fifth essence." Every American coin reads E Pluribus Unum - out of the many, one. Out of our diversity, unity. And the very word university means to find unity in diversity.

From language to education, the search for unity in diversity has left its mark. Today this search for unity is even more important because as specializations increase, there will be a fragmentation. The question is: How did diversity come about, and how do we locate or identify the unity?

When you think about it, diversity is on every side. We speak to others. We love others. There is an I-You relationship with which we live. May I suggest that only in the Christian faith can these diversities be explained. There is unity and diversity in life because there is unity and diversity in the first cause of our being - the Triune God. Before the creation of man, personhood, love, and communication existed in the one Triune God - what we call the Holy Trinity.

The Trinity gives us a key to understanding unity in diversity, for there is an implicit difference in the persons within the Godhead that does not negate equality of essence.

We too have a unity of essential humanity, originally made in the image of the Triune God. Jesus spoke of how we recover that which was lost. I hope you'll listen as we continue this discussion of how He addresses this longing to find what binds all of life together.

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Copyright © 2003 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

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