Mind and Thought

 Wherever we go, and whomever we may be with, there are certainly bound to be disagreements.  The apostle Paul knew this so well and he made an appeal to the Corinthians.  He wrote,

"I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought." (1 Corinthians 1:10).

Observe the 'all', the 'no divisions' and the words, 'perfectly united'.  In the verse are two prescriptions to take that will be the motivating force promoting the "perfect unity".  The first is the 'all'.  That is, "all agreeing with one another".  The second is to be "perfectly united in mind and thought".  Together, these will actively eliminate many of the quarrels that can so easily erupt among believers in a church.  

What is it that creates quarrels?

Often, it is over very petty issues that quarrels come.  A lot of it being because, as we read in Philippians, is that each is looking out for their own interests and not for Christ's.  Then people align themselves with the various leader of the various sides of the arguments (see Philippians 2:4-11).

 Instead, look at this remedy:   aligning our mind and thoughts to our Lord Jesus Christ's, and seeking to please Him, will appeal to our hearts and help us to agree with each other and align ourselves behind Him for achieving His purposes.

This may sound like uniformity rather than unity but I believe that when we align our mind and thoughts with Jesus Christ's we will be keeping the unity of the Spirit and not be promoting uniformity of appearance.

In other words, each believer can use their respective spiritual gift for the purpose of the cross of Christ and thus show the power of the cross in each working towards that single purpose.  In so doing there will be good fellowship among all the believers, lessening the potential divisions and foster being more perfectly united in mind and thought.  Let Paul's appeal be ours too.  Let us follow our Leader, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be one with Him.

Father in Heaven, we bow before you now.  You have made us one in Christ through Your Holy Spirit.  Yet, we often forget ourselves and begin taking sides of issues which are often petty.  However, I know we do need to stand up for and hold firmly to Your truth.

We also need to exhibit and exude Your grace.  Help us to maintain the unity of Your Spirit in the bond of peace.  Help our feeble humanness and remember we have the power of the cross flowing through our redeemed spiritual veins and thus able to discipline our minds and thoughts to be pro-actively aligned with yours so there be no quarrels, or divisions among us, rather that "perfect unity" you so delight in.

I ask in Jesus's name through whom Paul's appeal was made to the Corinthians.  May this be our appeal here and now, today, too.

                                                     ~ERC  October 2023~

Based on 1 Corinthians 1:10-13 NIV.

Sing, Make Us One/Erik Dewar.

FYI, Geranium flowers (as pictured above, symbolize: happiness, good health, and friendship).