The Power of Unity

Rabbi Jason

The unity of God’s people, first on Sinai (see Exodus 19), then many years later in Jerusalem (see Acts 2), sparked the fire and wind of the Spirit, which then created a wildfire of transformation. I hold firmly to the fact that God’s presence, power, and provision are in direct proportion to the unity of His people. The book of Acts records incredible unity (see Acts 1:14; 2:1; 5:12), and the results were a great harvest (see Acts 2:41).

Jesus’ Great Commission can’t be fulfilled if we are apart from each other. Unity is the foundation and fruit of redemption. Unity began in Jerusalem, and then, over time, the Gospel went to all nations. The new believers (both Jew and Gentile) were in one accord, and then God moved.

Unity and oneness align heaven and earth, as we often pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10 NIV). Wholeness and blessing come when God’s family loves one another and sacrificially unites to advance the Kingdom. The Kingdom we’re all waiting for won’t come if we, Jew and Gentile, are not united! Unity isn’t easy. For the Kingdom to come, we must surrender part of ourselves—our likes and desires—for the sake of the other person. We must be willing to listen to the other person and seek to understand them before we react. A house divided cannot stand, but a united house can’t be defeated. We need to act as one body of Messiah that doesn’t take offense and that is defined by His love.

As we realize that the God of the Other Side reaches across boundaries to come to us, we must also reach across boundaries to reach each other (see Acts 10). Let’s answer Yeshua’s prayer and strive to be one—Jew and Gentile together reaching the world for Him (see John 17:11).

Kathie

Let’s be honest. It’s easy to hurry by the homeless sleeping in the streets, cast judgment on the addicted shoving needles into their bodies, or the hookers on the street corners selling themselves to strangers to survive. We want to sit in our pews week after week, happy to pray for them and maybe send them some money, but certainly never venture into their stench to actually ask them their names and love them the way Jesus did. We want the government, or “someone else” to alleviate their suffering. Why isn’t it working? Because we’ve left God out of the solution. We’ve provided a bed but not shared the hope that only God can provide. Serving in the name of Jesus and relying on His power and His Holy Spirit to strengthen and guide brings His transforming power.

I don’t want to be lukewarm. I want to be on fire to share God’s love with the people who need it most. I want to meet Jesus at the “other side” and watch Him transform their lives, deliver them from their fears and their diseases, and their hopelessness. We are supposed to tell them. Then we’re supposed to show them by the way we live.

Respond

In what ways does unity express itself in the Body of Christ?

How is unity in Christ the foundation of reaching the world with His gospel of hope and salvation?

How will you show God’s love to the other side by the way you live? Invite the Holy Spirit today to empower you to be part of God’s plan to transform the lives of those who need Him.