31 Days of Unityنموونە

Overview: God's design for the church is that we would glorify God and offer good news to the world through our complete and steadfast unity. This is Jesus' prayer in John 17:23 where he says, "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."

The church needs good news.

Our world is angry and bitterly divided in so many ways. All of us have experienced this brokenness and its consequences. Amid all this anger and division the church has an opportunity to glorify God and offer the world hope, through our unity. Unfortunately, the church is just as divided and angry as the world around us. That is the bad news. The good news is that God is at work healing the church and there is hope for change. It won't happen, however, unless we pick up our crosses and follow after Jesus.

The 31 Days of Unity campaign is a starting point on the path of following Jesus to new life and to a place of healing for the church. This month-long journey can open space in our lives and churches for the Spirit to arrive and transform us. The unity we crave can only be achieved as the fruit of the Spirit at work in our shared lives.

Over these 31 days we will (Re)flect on God and ourselves, ask God to (Re)new our spirits and our vision for the church, and to (Re)deem our brokenness so that we can serve the world in love.

(Re)flect: As we begin this journey towards unity, our starting point is reflection. In our busy, noisy, and fast-paced lives, we are terrible at paying attention, especially to God. This is a skill we need to develop if we want God to change us. God is always present with us and at work around us, if only we have eyes to see and ears to hear. Reflecting on God reveals the good news of who God says we are and who God is calling us to be. So we begin our reflection with Jesus, and his most famous teaching to his disciples, the Sermon on the Mount.

As we read the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, a passage commonly referred to as the Beatitudes, we are paying attention to Jesus' description of life in God's kingdom. How is life in God's kingdom good news for those who live in an angry, divided, and violent world? Jesus, as he gathers his disciples to teach them about the surprising nature of God's kingdom, turns to the crowds around him and notices all the unexpected people seeking the kingdom, and the good news available to them.

The mountainside is filled with people, like us, seeking some relief from the pain in their lives. They want a vision of how the world can be different. They want to see God at work and be part of God's healing of the world. So, let us join those on the mountainside, and the disciples, by reflecting on the surprising nature of God's blessings and presence with us.

May this passage give us the eyes to see the blessings of God available to us and those around us.

After reading the passage, ask yourself these questions.

• What is surprising about the promised blessings of God in this passage?
• Who gets access to the blessings of God?
• Is there something new, or a helpful reminder, being revealed to you about the character of God?
• What is the good news revealed by Jesus?

Our Prayer for (Re)flection:

Lord, reveal how we have failed to be obedient to you and love one another as the children of God. We long to be unified through your love as the body of Christ. Renew our hearts and minds through your unending love, and give us the courage to surrender ourselves to your Spirit this day. Amen