“If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.” – God, Genesis 11: 6
There is power in unity. In the case mentioned above, that power was used to rebel against God in the building of the Tower of Babel. Recognizing the aim of this mutiny and its guarantee of success, God stepped in and took action. He responded by confusing mankind’s language and scattering people over all the earth (Genesis 11: 8,9).
Fast forward several thousand years to the arrival of Messiah. God’s plan was not for mankind to join together in the construction of a tower to reach heaven. His design was to leave his own place in heaven, live incarnationally among his creation here on earth, and die for us. Mankind was – and we continue to be – determined to save ourselves by striving upward. But God mercifully reached down to offer us salvation as a free gift wrapped in the death and resurrection of his only Son.
God still desires for us to live in unity, but His concept of unity is quite different from that of the world. Rather than striving for control, his unity involves sacrifice - laying down our lives in love and obedience - reconciliation, compassion, forgiveness... most of all relationship.
What does that look like? Leaders working with teams. Churches joining forces. Ambitions and egos being set aside in order to seek God’s will together and join him in his mission.
In the 17th chapter of John, as Jesus faces the approach of the cross, he prays that we (his disciples) may be one just as he and the Father are one. He goes on to pray something that seems to confirm the truth found in Genesis – that nothing will be impossible to those who are willing to practice unity. “May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me,” he prays. “I in them and you in me – so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17: 21,23).
Is it possible that the key and necessary first step to going into all the world to make disciples is unity among believers? Do we want the world to believe that Jesus was sent by the Father to rescue us from sin and invite us into eternal life? Are we willing to lay down our plans and desires in order to become one with Jesus, with the Father, and with each other?
Perhaps our foundational prayer for missions should echo our Savior’s prayer: “Bring us into complete unity, that the world may know."
Christopher Lane is serving as the U.S. Missions Advocate. Christopher helps inspire and equip others to join God’s mission. He and his wife, Fran, live in Colorado.
There is power in unity. In the case mentioned above, that power was used to rebel against God in the building of the Tower of Babel. Recognizing the aim of this mutiny and its guarantee of success, God stepped in and took action. He responded by confusing mankind’s language and scattering people over all the earth (Genesis 11: 8,9).
Fast forward several thousand years to the arrival of Messiah. God’s plan was not for mankind to join together in the construction of a tower to reach heaven. His design was to leave his own place in heaven, live incarnationally among his creation here on earth, and die for us. Mankind was – and we continue to be – determined to save ourselves by striving upward. But God mercifully reached down to offer us salvation as a free gift wrapped in the death and resurrection of his only Son.
God still desires for us to live in unity, but His concept of unity is quite different from that of the world. Rather than striving for control, his unity involves sacrifice - laying down our lives in love and obedience - reconciliation, compassion, forgiveness... most of all relationship.
What does that look like? Leaders working with teams. Churches joining forces. Ambitions and egos being set aside in order to seek God’s will together and join him in his mission.
In the 17th chapter of John, as Jesus faces the approach of the cross, he prays that we (his disciples) may be one just as he and the Father are one. He goes on to pray something that seems to confirm the truth found in Genesis – that nothing will be impossible to those who are willing to practice unity. “May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me,” he prays. “I in them and you in me – so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17: 21,23).
Is it possible that the key and necessary first step to going into all the world to make disciples is unity among believers? Do we want the world to believe that Jesus was sent by the Father to rescue us from sin and invite us into eternal life? Are we willing to lay down our plans and desires in order to become one with Jesus, with the Father, and with each other?
Perhaps our foundational prayer for missions should echo our Savior’s prayer: “Bring us into complete unity, that the world may know."
Christopher Lane is serving as the U.S. Missions Advocate. Christopher helps inspire and equip others to join God’s mission. He and his wife, Fran, live in Colorado.
