Being part of church is the greatest gift given to us by Christ but it also presents many
challenges. We are called to do life together and operate as one body, to love each other,
pray for each other and edify each other. The early apostles even taught us that when we
unite as one body; each playing its own part, we will all grow.
Why do we struggle to unite? We all have different ideas of what church should be like
and we all think our way of doing things is the right way. When we hurt each other, we
refuse to forgive and build offence in our hearts. We often gossip about each other and
say things just to fuel our egos. We don’t make time to get to know each other outside of
Sunday service because we are afraid to get too close. We argue and disagree about the
basic truths of the gospel and refuse to back down when we are wrong. Sometimes,
Jesus is not the centre of what we do because we seek to gain glory for ourselves. One
way or another we are all guilty of these things.
How can we unite? The foundation of the problem that the church is facing in our day,
lies in our hearts (Mark 7:21-23) and the only cure for it is love. Jesus taught us that all
the commandments come under two main commandments; love God and love people.
When we as individuals obey these two commandments, we will begin to see a united
church. Loving God means that we pursue Him privately and publicly; that we are
unafraid to share Him with others. It means we strive to live holy lives free from sin and
tune our ears to listen to His word. Nonetheless, it is difficult to love God and not love
people because we demonstrate our love for God through loving each other (John 13:35).
We show love for each by appreciating the different gifts we all bring to the table;
celebrating our differences and enjoying our shared love for Christ. We don't allow
offence to take hold of our hearts because we prioritise fellowship with one and other. At
times, we chose to make allowance for each other faults and other times, seek to resolve
conflict by talking through our issues but whatever we do, we do with love in our hearts.
Why should we unite? The Golden State warriors are six time NBA champions and their
slogan is “strength in numbers”. They understand that when they work as a team they
can produce outstanding results or even win championships. Likewise, when the church
unites, every one of us will be edified and we will be a force to reckon with. Together, we
can take the gospel to ends of the earth and demonstrate the love of Christ through the
love and respect we have each other. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit convicts each and
everyone of us on where we have fallen short and help us find our way back to playing
our part in the body.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another,
be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with us.”
2Corinthians13:11.
Claud Jaiyeola
Song Recommendation
Build Your Kingdom- Rend Collective