Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who…[will] bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. -Ephesians 1:3, 10 (NIV)
E pluribus unum – Latin for “Out of many, one” That phrase on the Great Seal of the United States was, for most of our history, considered the unofficial motto of our country. Eventually in 1956, Congress adopted “In God we trust” as our national motto. But unity has, in theory, always been considered the foundation of this country. How naive that seems today when we are so divided.
Yet unity, according to this text, is what God has planned for all creation (“to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.”) The problem is that what most people mean when they talk of unity is uniformity. But the unity which God plans is unity through diversity. A body is the image used in the Scripture. It is a complimentary unity not unity of likeness. Is about diverse and even unique parts, which when joined together form a perfect whole. As a puzzle has a unity formed by unique pieces so will God do with all creation.
What an amazing and wonderful thing God has planned. And we are offered the opportunity to play an important roll by becoming the person God created us to be through Jesus. The song writer had it right: “We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord…And we pray that all unity will one day be restored.” That prayer will be answered.
Praise the Lord!
Filed under: The Journey | Tagged: unity |
Discipleship at Messiah 