31 Days of UnitySample

(Re)deem: Having spent the last 30 days reflecting on God’s love for the church, our calling to live in communities of sacrificial love, and our mission to go out and to love all people as our neighbors, are you feeling encouraged? Discouraged? Overwhelmed?

Unity is hard. Unity is ridiculously hard. It is both essential to the life of the church and the greatest struggle we face. It is just so hard….. what hope do we have to achieve unity?

Jesus lived among a people who knew what it was to struggle. They lived under the oppressive rule of a foreign empire. They knew taxation, the struggle to provide food for themselves, injustice, pain, suffering, and all the other normal human experiences of hunger, thirst, unexpected disasters, and of course grief. No one Jesus spent time with ever knew a fraction of the comforts that we take for granted every day.

Jesus called his followers to a life of perseverance rooted in faith in the goodness of God. Rather than allow the struggles of their life to have the final word, Jesus brought them a taste of God’s kingdom, so that they could find the strength to continue in faith. Into a life of suffering, he brought healing. For those who were isolated, he brought the joy of being seen and known. For a people trapped in their own sin, he offered forgiveness. For a people living in an unjust world, he brought them the promise of God’s kingdom to come. Even though there were no quick answers to their struggles, in the life and message of Jesus, many found the hope to carry on.

In Luke 18, we have a brief parable showing the life of faith that Jesus’ followers are called to live. It is a life of persistence. In the parable, a widow pesters a judge until she gets the justice she deserves. In contrast to this corrupt judge finally relenting and giving her justice, Jesus says, “Will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off” (Luke 18:7) We can see how persistence pays off in a broken world, how much more so will persistence be rewarded in the justice of God’s kingdom?

Our pursuit of unity seems impossible. It is so much bigger than us. But God is with us, and for us, and wants our unity even more than we do. God is more committed to the healing of God’s church than we can ever be. So, let us persevere and be persistent, and live with hope. God hears our prayers and God is on the move.

After you read the passage, ask yourself these questions:

• What is the most daunting part of pursuing unity in the church?
• What injustice do you cry out to God to heal?
• Where can you pursue unity in the church? Who is God calling you to be reconciled to?

Our Prayer for (Re)demption

Jesus, you did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to bring salvation. May your light shine brightly through your children, that in our love of one another, the unity of the Church, and our service to the world, all may see your glory and be drawn into life with you. Amen