Morning Musings with the boys at breakfast...
What is the bridge that connects people who've come from various locations around the world? People from Africa. People from Malaysia. People from North America? What or Who can unify them? Ephesians 2:11-22 gives us a big clue.
The people of the Tower of Babel wanted to be one and stay one and tried to do this without God. So the very thing they feared came upon them. God confused their language, creating multiple languages, forcing the people of the human race to scatter over the whole earth.
Now through Jesus' work on the cross and His Holy Spirit's indwelling of each believer, He's bringing all back together again--not as a 'tossed salad' where each 'ingredient' (individual) can be seen BUT as a 'melting pot'--blended together; ONE in Christ.
God has set that ball rolling...let us overcome our prejudices between: men and women; ethnic group and ethnic group; religion and religion; and, denomination and denomination. If all truly have Jesus Christ then God's Spirit is there drawing us together. We have to work in tandem with Him.
"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4:1-6)
EXACTLY!! Paul's been talking about how we're one in Christ: God's drawn races (ethinic groups), genders, and opinions together so that we do not segregate into our own "type" but we must recall we (those who belong to Jesus) are all now HIS children, from ONE family---ONE in Christ. Let's not undo what God has done through Jesus and His sending of the Holy Spirit, unifying us. Make every effort! Keep the unity of the Spirit!
It is good to note here that "unity of the Spirit" doesn't mean uniformity. Individuals must use their gifts for the good of the whole and help keep the unity. This unity is given through the Spirit--we don't have to create the unity. God has already put the unity in place. Our, the believer in Christ,'s responsibility is to "keep it"; to "make every effort to keep it and that through the bond of peace".
How are we to become that homogeneous family? Verse 7 says, "each one of us has been given grace; Christ has apportioned it out to each of us in the measure we each need to make that effort to keep the unity of the Spirit. You may need two measures of grace and I may need five, etc, but you got it! Use the grace measures God so graciously has given you. God's Word says in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that God's "grace is sufficient". We just need to learn to appropriate that measure we've been given.
If we've been 'ticked off' by someone--go and forgive/be forgiven. Eat humble pie, if you have to; apologize--do what it takes to be the peacemaker. Ephesians 4:2 tells us to "be completely humble, patient...bearing with one another in love". God's grace will aid and abet and sustain you through Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace."Speak the truth in love" (vs 15-16) and let each of us do our part in this work of maintaining the unity of the Spirit God gave us to keep, no matter what.
Further to this we must decide in our minds, 'what are we' first? Are we Penan, Iban, Kayan, Chinese, African, or North American, first? Are we European first? Or are we Christians (children of God) first? Decide and then act upon it. If you, being a Christian, see yourself first and foremost as one, then act upon it. Read God's Word--see how a Christian is to behave, to be in character and conduct and do it!
Don't say, "I'm of this or that ethnic group, so I do it like this or like that"...see yourself as a Christian and behave as such. "Birds of a feather stick together" so be Christian 'birds' and keep that unity of the Spirit.
We have no excuses! God gave us His Son. God gave us faith. God gave us His Spirit. God gave us unity. God gave us grace. What more do we want?
~ERC 2016~
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