We have spoken about unity within Christ’s body as the fulfillment of Jesus’ intimate prayer to his Father of John 17. But the harmony of humanity we are to exhibit as God’s ambassadors to the world, and as avowed disciples of his Son, goes much further.

One of the first scriptures my mother taught my sisters and me was Romans 12:18. To this day the words are emblazoned on my memory where they were Scotch-taped to our refrigerator: If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all.

Unity is the great neglected virtue of the New Testament. It may, in fact, be the most important of all the virtues the church is to display to the world.

We find ourselves here facing a sometimes confusing, often misapplied, and complex command.

This command contains two elements. One, when problems and conflicts arise in the church--deal with them. Two, when problems have to be resolved, don’t involve outsiders. As much as possible keep them in the church.

Paul wrote these words to sum up the 14th chapter of 1 Corinthians in which he had been setting forth guidelines for the use and operation of the spiritual gifts.

At first read, this command seems so obvious as to be unnecessary. Who would choose to use a gift unwisely?

It is occasionally easy to read Paul’s words about the ”weak on faith” from the self-aggrandizing perspective of my maturity.

Encouragement is personal. This command clearly comes as a corollary to building up the body of Christ. It is not limited, however, to our relationships with Christians or a church environment. We are exhorted to encourage all men, all women, all children, in all circumstances. This is a 24/7 command.

The analogy of building is used throughout Scripture as symbolic of spiritual growth and development. It is an especially apt image with respect to the church.