No one can be in a church for any length of time without coming face to face with this reality: maintaining unity and love in the congregation requires constant attention.

 

In a community of believers who sincerely believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, who have a deeply held personal faith, who demonstrate a zeal in service, and convictions in sound doctrine, its members must still endeavor to live together in harmony.

 

This unity will not always be easy to attain.

 

There must be room for some differences and we must ever realize that we will never all agree on every matter 100% of the time.

 

Many of the problems that a church encounters relate to our failure in maintaining a Christ-like love and unity regarding our differences.

 

One of the chief causes of this disunity is simply the effect that someone else’s attitudes, actions, or words can have upon us.

 

If someone is cold toward you and you can feel it, although was not done intentionally, you may purpose to stay clear of that individual. What if someone else neglects you, walking past you as if you were not there? You tell yourself that this had not happened before, and you carry that thought home. Then you share that offense later that afternoon when you call your friend. Someone else has a habit that annoys you, and you determine to stay away from that person because you do not need that irritation in your life. Another person has bad breathe or some sort of mannerism that makes you feel uncomfortable, and now there are a number of people you feel it is best to avoid. When you come to church you are walking through a mine field of human obstacles that you must avoid and the blessing of unity is gone. What is the problem? What must be done?

 

First, we must recognize that the beam is in our own eye, the beam of criticism, of impatience, and of resentment. While it is easy to see the little things in our fellow brothers and sisters, it is far more difficult to see the log of pride that we all tend to carry around.

 

Second, we must realize that in all our relationships, whether at home, work, or church, that the way of victory is through death, death to ourselves. As we abide in Christ’s death we live out the triumph of His resurrection. “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:11).

 

Third, see Christ in every other person in the church, for we are all image bearers of the Triune God who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to bring salvation to the world. We are all crooked sticks but eternally and equally loved by God. See that Christ is working in you and in them, and labor to maintain “fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).

 

Let us all realize that we still have some of the old grave clothes still sticking to our ways. We easily see them in others, but they are more difficult to detect in ourselves. So in all of us let this mind so dwell, which was also in Christ Jesus, who although He was God manifest in the flesh, He “made Himself of no reputation, took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8). As we live out the victory of the Gospel may God be glorified in His church and many souls drawn to Calvary love.