Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!
– Psalm 133:1
“I cannot make this any clearer: you are a team, and to win this thing, you have to work as one.” That line came from a 1992 movie. Any guesses? It was a family movie starring Emilio Estevez called The Mighty Ducks. Estevez plays the role of a young lawyer who gets into some trouble with the law. He is instructed to do community service, specifically to coach a youth hockey team. This team was a rag-tag bunch of kids. There was some talent there, but as you can guess, no unity. Knowing he must resolve this issue, Estevez does something interesting at practice. He ties the team together in one tight group, then instructs them so they learn to move together. On their first try, they all fall quickly. Second try, same thing. Why? No unity. Everyone is working against the others. Eventually, though, they learn how to work together, and thus are on their way toward success.
I wonder if Jesus ever wanted to try that with his disciples. It seems pretty obvious that they were not the most cohesive group, at least not in the earlier days of their time as followers. Left on their own, they likely never would have achieved serious solidarity. But Jesus knew that God could accomplish what humans never could. We read the Gospels and still marvel at the miracles of giving sight to the blind, calming storms, casting out demons and other such things. Yet do we ever really think about the more subtle miracle of creating unity within this diverse dozen?
The psalmist expresses the beauty of unity in ancient eastern terms. It is as sweet as the dew of Mount Hermon, as soothing as anointing oil running over the beard. Unity among God’s people is a blessing from the Lord. It should not be casually forsaken, but guarded as we would a treasure. Unity requires effort and intention. And let us not forget, the fertile ground in which unity grows best is a Christ-like spirit of humility and service among his followers, something we like to call agape love.
Three verses. One powerful truth. Unity among God’s people is beautiful on a grand scale. If we truly believe this, it might make us grieve a bit and ponder why we allow unity to be destroyed within the church. To be frank, most of the reasons for disunity in the church are not at all mysterious. The reasons can be traced back to some basic realities, such as our habit of walking or speaking in the flesh rather than in the Spirit, or the hyper-partisan society in which we live, or even our unconscious but very real tendency to “flock with other birds who are of the same feather.”
I am so thankful that Jesus prayed for our unity (see John 17:20-21). I am also moved by knowing how important unity is to Jesus.
Can you picture what it would look like if Jesus took all of his followers in the world, tied us together, and challenged us to function in unity? I’m not sure it would be a pretty sight. Don’t get me wrong; I know we will always have our challenges regarding unity. Perhaps it would help, though, if we keep in mind that Jesus didn’t create a Republican or Democrat church, a White, Black, Asian or Hispanic church, a church of any national allegiance, a white collar or a blue collar church, or a church defined by any of the countless ways we divide ourselves. Jesus created one Church—and he prayed for our unity.
Let us not grieve the Spirit of Christ by causing disunity, and thus deprive ourselves of the good and pleasant blessing God offers.
Though with a scornful wonder,
we see her sore oppressed,
by schisms rent asunder,
by heresies distressed,
yet saints their watch are keeping,
their cry goes up, “How long?”
and soon the night of weeping
shall be the morn of song!
– Samuel J. Stone
The Winding Path 