Unity

Unity is a subject that is very important in this world today. Many people want to band together for a common purpose. Sometimes this is an interest that a particular group of people have in common such as singing or traveling. These people get together and form choirs and travel groups. Our country, the United States of America, is a nation of fifty different states that have a respect for one another and a desire to function together as a country. On the international level there are a number of organizations that different nations with a common goal can work together such as the United Nations or the European Union. Unity, however, doesn’t just exist in the world. It exists in the church as well. We have a denomination that has been blessed for the most part with unity in both doctrine and practice. In other words all of our congregations hold to the same doctrinal practices and have a similar order of worship. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1).  To have unity with another person or an organization implies that there is a desire of fellowship that, in the case of two people, results in either marriage or friendship. In the case of an organization or country, it creates a common goal that everyone strives to accomplish. To have unity means that there is agreement on the part of those involved in the relationship. “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3).  As church members we should endeavour “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). This means that we are to live as peacefully with each other as possible and forgive where sin has been committed. We should also be aware that not all unity is good. The United Nations, European Union, and other organizations like them are precursors to the anti-christian kingdom whose goal is to destroy the church. This kind of unity is best displayed in the Beatles song “Imagine” which begins “Imagine there’s no heaven”. The gist of this song is that if there were a world where Heaven and Hell did not exist, we could all do as we wanted without consequences or sin of any sort, so that ultimately “the world could be as one”. In Genesis 11 the people who lived during the time immediately after the flood all refused to leave the plain of Shinar and wanted to build a tower that reached unto heaven. This was due to the fact that they wanted to remain in the same place, speaking the same language. God did not allow this to happen by confusing their languages and scattering them all over the earth. Despite the different languages and cultures that are in this world today, there is still a significant interest in establishing an earthly kingdom, and events are shaping up for the coming of the Antichrist. Nevertheless, we can take comfort in the fact that God is in control of all things. May God give us as young people and young adults the grace to remain unified in Him and His word!

Kevin Rau