It is a shame
we haven’t lived the prayer of Jesus, “so that they may be one” in a way the
world can see. Instead the church that Jesus prayed to be protected from the
world might need to be protected from itself as denominations and
non-denominations (which have become denominations unto themselves) divide and
disagree to protect thought and word despite the fact that their deeds are
often less than pure. And truth to be told even those who elevate unity above
all else live less of it than they like to believe. But then the people who
were present as Jesus prayed didn’t do much better. Certain men from James, the
brother of the Lord, criticized Peter (the Rock no less) for eating with
non-Jews and he withdrew from doing what he knew was right. Paul didn’t hold
back from expressing his displeasure with the Jerusalem triad, those “reputed
to be pillars” and his letters detail the difficulty believers had in making
“every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” So I
suppose we should not be surprised when the ways of the world creep into the
culture of the church. That doesn’t mean we can’t live more fully into Jesus’
prayer even while remaining loyal to the denominational lines we love. If we
understood being one as singing together in harmony then every note in the
Christian chorus has a place in the choir and as long as we don’t insist on our
note being the best perhaps the world would hear a different tune coming out of
the church and want to listen or maybe even sing along.
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