Perfect Harmony

Perfect Harmony

Samantha W.

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! Psalm 133:1 NIV

With Easter less than a month away, I’ve been reading on Jesus’ trial and crucifixion. Right before He’s arrested, Jesus prayed for us in the Garden of Gethsemane.

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—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. John 17:22-23

Unity may seem simple enough, but it is an age-old problem. Even among Christians. In 1 Corinthians 1:10-12, Paul writes, I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there may be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

At the beginning of verse 13 he asks, “Is Christ divided?”

No, Christ cannot be divided. Yet how can we explain the division that still goes on today?

Some of us are Baptists. Some of us are Methodists. Some are Lutheran, Presbyterian, or Anglicans. We can’t see eye to eye, so we form separate denominations.

Before we can unite, we must stand on the same level ground, founded solely on God’s wisdom and Truth. Unity should be easy, but often our own feelings, emotions, and biased opinions get in the way and cloud our judgment.
 
That’s why it’s important for us to read and study the Bible for ourselves, lest we become as confused as the Corinthians.