I recently watched the Avengers and was
struck by so much truth that was building on a major thing God has
been teaching me, which is UNITY. In the first Avengers, Loki comes
in and lets himself be captured, so that he can get on the inside and
get them all to go against themselves and tear each other apart. They
are all so different. They have different strengths and weaknesses,
different opinions on some pretty major things, different
personalities, and Loki was using all of that to turn them against
each other. He knew that if they were divided, they would fall apart.
But then...they are faced with a battle for which they desperately
need each other. After realizing and overcoming what Loki was trying
to do, they forgot their differences and focused on the mission:
saving the earth. When they finally come together and fight their
enemies in harmony and with one goal, it is a beautiful thing. There
is one particular scene when they are all rising up to the plate and
preparing to battle, and it gave me chills. They face Loki and his
army as a team - as one unit working together, using all of their strengths. They gain victory when they are united. They are so
committed to their cause that they are willing to die for it, and for
each other.
So now onto what God has been teaching
me...The last few months I have been reading through the New
Testament, and this time through I have noticed how much Jesus, Paul,
and all the other writers, talk about our relationships with other
believers. Here is part of Jesus' prayer in John 17:20-23:
“My prayer is not for them alone. I
pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
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. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they
may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be
brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and
have loved them as you loved me.” John 17:20-23
He prayed for all of us believers to be
unified, so the world would believe. He could have prayed for so many
things, but He chose unity. He knows how important it is, and so does
our enemy. Satan is always looking for ways to tear us apart and
bring divisions between us as a body of Christ. He knows how powerful
we can be when we are united, so he wants to make sure that doesn't
happen. Life is full of interactions with people, and how we interact
as the body of Christ has such an impact on the world. Paul knew
that, and focuses so much on unity and on loving each other:
“I appeal to you, brothers, in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another
so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be
perfectly united in mind and thought.” 1 Corinthians 1:10
“Be completely humble and gentle; be
patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep
the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” -Ephesians
4:2-3
“The entire law is summed up in a
single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' If you keep on
biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed
by each other.” Galatians 5:14-15
I could go on and on with scriptures
talking about this. The point is, unity is so important. So, how do
we achieve this unity? Do we just try harder to be nice to each
other? As I was reading through the New Testament, and realizing all
this, I was starting to get frustrated with the church. I was
thinking, “Why can't people just love each other?” It was all
about “them”. And then God hit me with this verse:
“But if we walk in the light as he is
in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of
Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7
It's not about “them”. It's about
my relationship with God. If we walk in the light, with God, we will
have fellowship with each other. First and foremost, it's about my
own relationship with God. I need to start with the man in the mirror
and work on myself, and that will lead to unity with other believers.
I can't love others if I don't love God. The
next one that God hit me with was 1 John 2:9:
“Anyone who claims to be in the light
but hates his brother is still in the darkness.”
Wow. Talk about being convicted. It's
not saying that we have to love people in order to be “qualified”
to walk in the light, but rather, our love for people is evidence
that we are in the light. So here I was pointing my finger at
everyone else, and God turned it right back around and pointed it at
me. I need to focus on my relationship with HIM. I need to be
constantly filling myself with His love, so that I can pour it out
onto others.
I want to be more aware of the dividing
tactics of the enemy. I can't fight a battle if I don't know it's
taking place. I need to fall in love with God more every day so that
I can love others. Satan attacks our relationship with God because he
knows God is the only one who can fulfill us and he doesn't want
that. He comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He knows true joy is
found in God alone. He is the father of lies and convinces us
that that isn't true. But I've realized that there is another reason why
He attacks our relationship with God: he knows it directly influences
our relationships with our brothers and sisters. He is constantly
building walls between us and bringing division. I want to put him in
his place. I want to claim victory in Jesus! I want to make God my
absolute top priority. I want to be digging into His word and
continually be in prayer, and it's no wonder that it's such a battle
to do that. Satan knows everything hinges on my relationship with
God.
It seems impossible sometimes to have
unity. We are so different. How could God take all of us, and create
something beautiful? How could I possibly love the people who just
simply annoy me? How can we have true unity with each other, when we
have such different backgrounds, personalities, and opinions? The
answer is we can't. We aren't capable of achieving this unity.
BUT....God. I am so thankful for all the “but God”s in the Bible.
We have the power of the Holy Spirit living in us. We have something
that can connect us in a way that is deeper than anything in the
whole world.
“For God did not give us a spirit of
timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.”
2 Timothy 1:7
Being here in Uganda has opened my eyes
to the unity that is possible in Him. I'm best friends with people
who were complete strangers only four months ago. I already feel at
home in a church that is so different from what I know and am used
to. I'm in a class with 60 other people who are all from different
backgrounds. We have our disagreements and issues, but when it comes
down to it, they are my brothers and sisters, and God is teaching me
how to love each of them for who they are. I have to constantly ask
Him for help, because I run out of my own love so quickly. If I'm not
filled with Him, I am simply not the person I want to be. That is why
I am also learning the importance of spending time with Him every
single day. My relationship with God directly affects every other
part of life.
The bottom line is, we are called to
love God, and love people...And if we ask Him, He will provide what
we need to do just that.
“A new command I give you: Love one
another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this
all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one
another.” John 13:34-35
