Unity

What is unity? Unity is the opposite of division. Anything that causes division is not unity. Unity is not uniformity. Unity is not everyone being just like me.
I love the teaching in Ephesians 4:3. Ephesians 4:3- (new international version)....."Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace".
The reason why Paul tells the Ephesian church to make an effort is because unity isn't easy. It requires effort. It requires being a peacemaker. It requires lots of love. It requires lots of patience. It's like a marriage. It requires work but if you will put in the effort, then you can enjoy the rewards!
Unity  is understanding that we will never all agree on everything. That we won't always see eye to eye. You may not like how this is done or how that is being run, but unity understands that what we have in common is worth much more and is more valuable than what little separates us.
Why was God so concerned about unity? Not only because of what we can get done in unity, but I believe God loves unity because Satan hates it so much!
Satan works day and night trying to highlight our differences and cause divisions in the body of Christ. It's the desire of satan to divide and conquer but it's the will of God that we stay united.
I love Psalms 133:1-"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"
God loves unity...
God honors unity...
He is attracted to unity...
And He chooses to work only where there is unity...
Matthew 18:19-Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
The church began when they became united....Acts 2:1-"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place."
....and then and only then did God birth the church and fill it with His spirit.
There are amazing things that can happen when God's people get in unity...
let me stop here and tell us that in the word of God, there's only two ways to have perfect unity. First is persecution. The second is prayer. I don't know about you, but I had rather pray!
O God, help me to always fight for unity, because unity is worth the fight!
Listen, if Jesus only works where there is unity and if I needed God to move in my life and in my family's life, then I'd strive and work for my family's sake to achieve unity! Unity at any cost is a cheap price to pay!
The best way to keep unity is to stay united with Jesus!
But how do we get in unity with Him?
Hebrews 11:6-But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
First of all, we must believe in Him. But what does the Bible say that this kind of belief looks like? It would be very audacious of me to assume I could put my own definition on what I think believe means. I want to know what the scripture has to say  about that....in this verse, the word says, we must believe that He is AND...(there's more to this definition)...and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.  According to the Bible, a believer is one, who not only believes, but seeks after and pursues Christ.
It's very easy to be in unity with others after I've been in fellowship with Him.
You see, one of the rewards
of diligently seeking Him is that I must repent and lay aside my flesh and my disgruntled spirit and cleanse my heart to approach Him. And when that happens, I no longer care about the tiny divisions Satan had me focused on, but my mind is saturated with kingdom business and eternity.
So I encourage everyone, if you haven't already began that pursuit, that you choose right now to diligently begin your pursuit of Christ.
If you will diligently seek Him.....The rewards are out of this world!