Follow in Unity

Verse of the day: I Corinthians 1:10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

If we love one another, as Jesus loves us, then the world will know that we belong to Him. Sadly, what the world often sees is a group of Christians proclaiming the message of the Gospel, but who cannot seem to get along with each other. In this chapter, one of the issues the Apostle Paul pleads with the Church at Corinth about is the issue of division that existed among them. Some pledged their allegiance to Paul, some to Peter, some to Apollos, and some to Jesus; when, as born again believers, they all belonged to the Messiah, Jesus. There is great danger in following a man simply because he speaks well or is a good pastor, preacher or teacher. While God gives us these godly people to lead us, and teach us, their purpose in doing so should always be to point us to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We may have differing opinions, and perspectives. We may see things differently, and even approach the truth from different directions (as long as we are not trying to corrupt the truth or attempt to use it to justify our immorality); the bottom line is that we all belong to God, who is One. The Father who loves all of us. Jesus who died for all of us. The Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that indwells all of us. There is no division in God; therefore, there must be unity among His people. We must learn how to "agree to disagree" on certain points, and realize that the other person may be right in what they are trying to communicate. We have to learn how to speak the truth, in love, and though we may debate, in the end, be able to walk away from that debate in godly peace, still embracing one another, and appreciating the fact that God has created us with differing personalities, perspectives, and opinions, and that the only thing that matters is that the truth of God should unite us, not divide us. In the end, the only Man we should faithfully follow (in unity), is the Son of God, our Savior, our Lord, Jesus Christ.