Commitment to Unity
By Chaz Umamoto, Worship Ministry Support Coordinator
A big part of my testimony on how I came to Christ and how I came to First Prez came from reading Francis Chan’s Crazy Love. Great book! But I have to say that I ended up throwing away my first copy because it challenged me too much. And then I realized that I felt challenged because I needed Jesus to change my life.
Now 10+ years later I’ve taken up Chan’s latest book Letters to the Church. This has been such a heavy read for me that I’ve been taking walks around my neighborhood even before sunrise to pray, worship, and focus on some of the things the Lord has been showing me through the book, one of which is the importance of unity. Chan thoroughly laid out the foundation for unity before getting into the heavy stuff. I don’t know if this is for the faint of heart, but Chan’s words and writings are always challenging.
But you know who’s words are more challenging? Jesus’. Read John 17:20-23.
Jesus establishes that unity is a gift that we are to live out for His glory and in response to what He has done. “I in them and You in Me” (verse 23). What a powerful prayer! Jesus doesn’t ask for organizational unity. He proposes unity amongst His people and through His people. He’s not proposing feelings of unity. Jesus is asking for a commitment to the practice of unity. The idea of oneness with Him is a daily practice of surrender, so that means we also need to sacrifice our own desires and commit to unity to those around us. Jesus doesn’t propose this as a privilege for His believers. He says, “May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.”
I don’t know what it will take to create tangible unity in the world, but I know that Jesus cares about the unity we commit to in our own circles. I can’t ask anyone else to sacrifice anything, but my commitment is to continue to love my family, neighbors, and community as Christ has loved me. Even if it means waking up before sunrise every day so I can meditate on these words, that God desires us to commit to unity. My prayer is that we pray for one another’s endurance and ability to desire unity over division, more than we pray for protection, or a platform for our voice to be heard.
Prayer: Lord, help us to fill the cracks where division exists. Help us to be better neighbors. Remind us of Your great love for us, and grant us the endurance to be better partners with the Holy Spirit as we go out and further our commitment to unity. Amen.
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