Stay together

Stay together

Bible: Ephesians 4:1-6

Keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (V.3).

Reading

Dewberry Baptist Church split in the 1800s over a chicken leg. A few versions of the story exist, but a current member of the church said it like this: two men fought over the last drumstick at a church lunch. One man said God wanted him to have it. The other said God didn’t care, and he really wanted it. The men became so angry that one moved a couple of miles down the road and started Dewberry Baptist Church #2. Thankfully the churches managed to sort things out and become one church again. Today, everyone agrees the reason for this split was a bit crazy! Jesus agrees. The night before His death He prayed that His followers would “be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” May they “be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me” (JOHN 17:21-23). Paul agrees. He tells us: “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit” (EPHESIANS 4:3-4), and these cannot be split up. Hopefully we’ll never find ourselves in the sort of strange situation Dewberry Baptist Church did in the 1800s. But we still have a role to play in our churches to be part of the unity of Christians. Do we spend Sunday mornings or youth group meet ups talking to and sitting with the same people? Or do we realise we are “one body and one Spirit” with every Christian? Once we realise we are the same and specially joined together with everyone in our church family, we’ll be ready to “make every effort” with them.

WE’RE NOT JUST “ONE” WITH THE CHRISTIANS WE
LIKE, BUT WITH EVERY CHRISTIAN!

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