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Thursday, 07 August 2008

newsletters@gracefortheheart.org

Unity
 
Someone told the story of a man who wandered into town on a Sunday morning and stood on a corner that had three churches.  He could hear loud singing coming from each of them.  The first church was singing, "Will there be any stars in my crown?"  The second sang, "No, not one.  No, not one."  At that the third church began a rousing chorus of "O that will be glory for me!" 
 
Well, that pretty much sums up the state of the church in America today, doesn't it?  Comparisons, competition, and controversies.  We are hardly one Church. 
 
Yet, the prayer of Jesus was that we would all be one.  He desired unity in the hearts of His people.  It shouldn't surprise us that His love desires unity.
 
And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.  John 17:22-23
 
Our unity is an acknowledgment of His love for us.  Anything less than unity in the Church is evidence of a wrong focus in our hearts.  But how do we find unity when our doctrines differ so greatly?  And, even more pointedly, how do we find unity when our opinions differ so greatly?
 
This is where the message of grace in the Person and work of Jesus changes everything.  When we begin to understand just who we are in Christ and Who He is in us, the walls that divide God's people begin to fall.  In fact, there are no real walls between us in Christ.  (Romans 12:5; Galatians 3:28)
 
In 1 Corinthians 4:7, Paul asks, "What do you have that you did not receive?"  He wants us to understand that everything we have in Christ, which is everything we need, is a gift.  It was not our goodness or understanding that brought it to us.  The Lord gave us what we need as a gift.  That's what grace is all about.  We have received all things in Him. 
 
And, since we have received all good things as a gift, then we have nothing in which to boast.  It is Jesus alone Who saves us, sanctifies us, and glorifies us.  The very life that flows within each of us is His life.  There is no opportunity for us to pat ourselves on the back, to compare ourselves favorably against others, or to boast about our spirituality.
 
But there's more.  The life that flows in every Christian is the life of Christ.  Even when those Christians don't worship like we do and even when they don't interpret the Scriptures as we do.  You and I have been taught that doctrine matters, but are we prepared to condemn someone who trusts in Jesus just because he or she holds a doctrine that is different from ours?  Now that I understand grace, that everything I have is a gift from the Lord who loves me, I can no longer condemn any brother or sister in Christ.  I may not agree with their views, but we are still one in Him.  Little by little I am growing into "unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God."  (Ephesians 4:13)
 
Two things have convinced me.  First, the wonder and majesty of Jesus.  I have seen in Him an incredible creativity and variety that I dare not ignore.  He will not fit into my box, no matter how I define it.  And, second, my total dependence on Him.
 
Those who teach grace are accused of many things.  When we are accused of being too accepting and too loving, particularly toward other believers, I think we are on the right track
 

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