Unity Validates Your Message

Taken from Dear Sisters, Letters of Hope and Encouragement by Gisela Yohannan

Challenged and blessed by this letter on unity as a wife, in ministry and among my co-workers.

WE ARE TO REFLECT GOD'S NATURE.
More than anything else, unity based on love, as described in 1 Cor 13:4-8, demonstrates the nature of God to a world that is torn into thousands of pieces by strife, wars, and hatred. All these directly result from men's selfishness and pride, their demanding and fighting for their own rights at the expense of others.

God on the other hand, is a Trinity that exists in perfect unity. God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit never compete with each other for anything. God's plan is that when people watch our lives, they should see a true reflection of His nature in us. That's why Jesus prayed for His followers just before He went to the cross: "that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us." (John 17:21).

UNITY VALIDATES OUR GOSPEL MESSAGE
Jesus clearly expresses in the very next statement of His prayer that the believability of the gospel message will depend on our unity among each other: ..."that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me" (John 17:21.
It's a very sobering truth. We generally think that preaching confirmed by healing and miracles will cause people to believe in Jesus. But now we discover in Jesus' prayer that unless God's work is backed up by our unity, we actually destroy the credibility of the Gospel. That should alarm us enough to honestly examine our home life, our teamwork and our relationships with our husband, co-workers, leaders and church members.

UNITY TRANSFORMS US INTO A MIGHT FORCE
Imagine a cart with a heavy load on it and 20 people each trying to pull it into a different direction. How successful will they be to get to the next village? They will never make it unless they make up their minds and everyone pulls in the same direction. Similarly, if people unite together in a cause, nothing will be impossible for them. That's what God said in Gen 11:6 about the ungodly people who set out to build the Tower Of Babel. How much truer should this statement be of us, whom God has called to build HIS KINGDOM!

Much frustration and lack of success in our ministries can often be traced back to the fact that our hearts are not united. If there is any resentment in your heart toward your leader, your co-worker, your husband or the ministry- even if you never express it in words- you have created a roadblock for God's Spirit to move.

UNITY DOES NOT COME WITHOUT A PRICE
It starts with a deliberate decision on our part to humble ourselves as Jesus did, to willingly lay down our rights and desires and submit to the will of God WITH ALL OUR HEART (Philip 2:5-8).

If we struggle to hold onto something we count so dear, let us consider this: Our life here on earth is so short. Unless we make our decisions with eternity in mind, we will definitely miss God's plan.