I find that the writings of Paul mirror and follow the words of Jesus. It’s obvious that Paul understood the importance of the saints of God being committed to loving one another. The more I read his letters to the churches, I can see that he felt like unity must not be an option. Paul devoted his life to preaching the Gospel and starting churches, and he knew that love and unity would cause them to endure. It doesn’t matter how great something begins, only love and unity will cause it to remain and continue.
I wish the body of Christ would get back to this message. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to start throwing off on churches and ministerial organizations, I’m just saying that I feel like it’s imperative to preach it stronger and practice it with more passion. God’s people do love, but I think we could love more. We are united, but I think we could draw even closer together. Yes, I believe we should pray more, fast more and worship more, but there is a strength that comes with unity, that nothing else can compare.
The truth is, we will never love beyond our walls if we’re not loving the ones inside of our walls. We can’t unite with other churches, if our church isn’t united. If we criticize the people within our own church, then we will find fault and criticize people in other churches. We’ve allowed church growth to become church rivalry. It doesn’t matter what your monthly attendance is. If you’re preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, you are my team member, not my competition. We have to stop comparing and competing and start loving and uniting. One day we will all stand before God and give an account of what we accomplished for the Kingdom and also what we could have accomplished.
The bottom line is, it all begins within the local church. Being kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another. That’s our mandate and it must become our mission. Be faithful to your church and to your church family. Don’t start church shopping or church hopping. No church is perfect, so instead of finding fault in your church, why not work hard to make it better. People don’t realize how it affects a church when just one family leaves. It confuses the children and causes wonder and speculation in the church. We need love and unity. Let’s pray together and stay together. Let’s fight the enemy, not each other. We can only make a difference together. I think Jesus’ message and Paul’s writings were telling us, “WE’RE BETTER TOGETHER”!!!
So True!!!
Yes, Amen, Amen!!