1 Corinthians 1:10

In this letter, Paul does a lot of straight talking to the Corinthian church. It is significant that the first issue he addresses is unity, because everything depends on it. A disunited church cannot possibly be effective and 2,000 years of Church history have proved that to be the case. Disunity wastes time and energy and prevents any organisation from making headway. In Corinth they had started getting behind different leaders. Some supported Paul, but others preferred Apollos or Peter, while others were only prepared to follow Jesus. It was all getting very messy, and Paul appealed to them to drop this divisiveness.

Unity is just as vital today, and we all have a part to play in contributing to it. Absolutely key to unity is humility. Mother Teresa wrote: “Only humility will lead us to unity and unity will lead to peace.” The humble person is willing to listen and to learn. They may have strong views, but they are willing to admit that they might be wrong. They are constantly looking for ways to encourage others and are always inclined to see other people as being better than themselves. I don’t need to say any more to convince you that this is a demanding road, but it is also the one that leads to greatest blessing.

We also need to keep in mind that unity is vulnerable. I often think of it as being like a porcelain dish. It is beautiful but also fragile and needs to be looked after. We dare not take it for granted. As Paul said when he wrote to the Ephesians: “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit” (Ephesians 4:3). Unity will require sheer hard work, but it will always be worth it.

Question

What are you able to do to contribute to unity in your own church?

Prayer

Lord God, help me never to take unity for granted, but always to do those things that will help it to flourish. Amen