Romans 15:5-6

May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

You don’t need to be a genius to work out why Paul so often spoke about the issue of unity! He knew how hard it was to achieve. If the early Church had always enjoyed harmonious relationships, he could have kept quiet on the subject. His continual reiteration of the message of unity was because he knew that it was the demanding daily work of the Church – and it still is!

It is often very small issues which cause huge disputes in churches. It’s just the same in marriage. When I’ve had the privilege of walking with couples who have encountered difficulties, almost always when I ask them to trace back to the original dispute, they fall about laughing at the absurd triviality of the issue. If a small disagreement is not resolved, it can soon turn into an agonisingly vast and unbridgeable chasm.

The only way to live in complete harmony is by recognising that we cannot do it by ourselves. We need the God of patience and encouragement to accompany us. We need to commit our difficulties to him in fervent prayer so that we can find his Spirit’s way of resolving the situation. The outcome that we are looking for is united worship. When our eyes are fixed on the Lord and we can sing together with one voice, we will know that we have found true unity.

Always remember that unity is fragile, so you and I need to make our contribution to unity if it is to flourish.

Question

In what way can you contribute to the unity of the Church today?

Prayer

Lord God, I thank you that you are the source of true unity. Thank you for your endless patience with me and your constant encouragement. Amen