What Causes Unity?

In yesterday's post I took a brief look at what causes division. It was by no means exhaustive, but one foundational element was that divided hearts have a hard time being unified. When our hearts are divided between God and other things or worse yet our hearts aren't turned to God at all, it becomes quite easy to divide our lives and our relationships. That post spent a good number of words warning against what NOT to do. This post focuses on what TO do.

Towards a Unified Heart
I am not about to claim that my heart is undivided toward God all, or even most, of the time. Growing an undivided heart is a life-long process, though, and it's something that needs constant tending. Cultivating it, though, is part of what this life is all about. (PURPOSE)

Before I go any deeper, I think it's important to define two things: 1) Unity and 2) an undivided heart. The American Heritage Dictionary defines unity as:
1) The state or quality of being one; singleness.
2) The state or quality of being in accord; harmony.
3) a. The combination or arrangement of parts into a whole; unification.
b. A combination or union thus formed.
4) Singleness or constancy of purpose or action; continuity: "In an army you need unity of purpose" (Emmeline Pankhurst).

I think each one of those definitions has relevance to our lives, our relationships and the Church. It is God's desire that we be unified, one, but often times we don't look or act like we are "in accord, harmony" or have a "singleness of constancy of purpose or action". What could God's people be if they did? Think of the power and glory that such a unification would bring - both to this earth and to God.

I have offered a prescription for unity - an undivided heart. But what does an undivided heart look like? Again, let's go back to our definition of "unity". In particular #4 "Singleness or constancy of purpose or action; continuity". Does my heart beat with a single or constant purpose or action (loving and worshipping God)? Does it do so continuously? Are my life and my actions lived and done for His glory or for mine?

Practically speaking, an undivided heart is a supernatural occurance. How can I as a mere human have an undivided heart when I have a wife,a son, family and friends, and my own desires to boot? How can I, God-like, love all these people (and my neighbor!) as God would have me AND love God with all my heart, sould, mind, strength (resources)? Again, I don't think _I_ can. It must come from a supernatural indwelling of the Holy Spirit, because such a feat is a miracle of the supernatural. Yet, we are called to it and Jesus, Himself, prays for it. (John 17:20-26)

Example of Unity: Soldiers Under Fire
We've seen unity before in our lives. It may not have been in the church, though, and it may not even have been supernatural. But I think it may be useful to see an example of unity in action any see if we can find any common causes.

It is common to hear about soldiers who have experienced combat together to talk of the deep commeraderie or oneness that was achieved on the battlefield (think Band of Brothers...) These soldiers rarely knew each other before the enlisted and probably came from disparate backgrounds. Yet, the heat of battle forged them together into a single unit, even moreso than a squad under peace-time conditions. There are certainly psychological reasons why that would be so, but I think those are instrumental to our discussion. Here is what I see brings them together:
1) A single purpose (accomplish a mission, or simply survive)
2) Total reliance on each other for survival
3) Suffering together (either physical injury or duress, or psychological/emotional loss if death occurs)
4) Being victorious together (completing a mission/surviving the tour)

No doubt there is more to it than that, but at the core of their unity is their relationships. These people are stuck together and not by choice. They live and die together and rely on one another for protection, friendship and support. These bonds are founded on human, natural grounds, but the relationships and unity appear very much supernatural.

Lessons Learned
Is there a lesson to be learned here? Yes. As Christians we have (or should have) each one of the elements listed above 1) A single purpose (love the Lord our God - But what does this look like?) every other purpose is derived from that. 2) We truly rely on one another for spiritual survival. (see 2 Corinthians 12:12-31) I'm sure it's possible to subsist without a fellowship of believers, but I'm not convince one can thrive. 3) and 4) Again, see Paul's remarks in 2 Corinthians: "If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."

An undivided body starts with an undivided heart. An undivided heart is one which beats for God and God alone (which is not exclusive of other relationships.) The ability to have an undivided heart is a supernatural gift from God. It is not humanly possible. Undivided hearts lead to an undivided body. So where to start?

I want to get into more practical ways to create unity in future posts but for now, here are a few ways to get started:

1) Spend time reading the Bible
2) Spend time in prayer. In particular, pray for other people, especially any one you feel divided against. Pray to bless them.
3) If there is anyone you feel has sinned against you - forgive them. Also, see number 2.
4) Spend time with other believers - pray together, worship together, enjoy each other's company

Next time I get specific, and back to the Lord's Prayer.

What Causes Division?

We in the US live in a culture of division and conflict. I think some of that comes from the philosophical divides over competition versus cooperation which in turn translates into left v. right, poor v. rich, etc., etc. It seems that there are two and only two sides in every debate and even the most trivial of things becomes a competition in a winner-take-all setting (Coke v. Pepsi, tastes great v. less filling, sharks v. jets...)

Identity Crisis
Perhaps misplaced identity is the core of the problem. If I am a Star Wars fan, a Libratarian, an Evangelical, I have chosen to apply a label to myself which I must then defend in order to protect my sense of what it means to be me. I do this either by asserting the goodness of said label or by attacking its perceived opposite.

The problem with labels - self or other-applied - is that they mask our true identities. As we begin to peel off the labels and scrub away the adhesive, we begin to find that underneath all of it is a child of God. I wasn't created to defend Captain Kirk from Han Solo. I was created to be a son of the most high God, to worship Him and Him alone. Which leads me to another conclusion: labels can also become idols.

Whenever we place our core identity away from God, we become idolotars. We are saying that thing who makes me who I am, in which I live and breathe and have my being, is not God, but something else. We, in effect, worship the created and not the creator. Why do we do this? I think it is an attempt to fill something which we is lacking in our lives - a desperate attempt to find meaning in a complex and chaotic world.

This Identity Leaves Me Wanting
The apostle James puts it another way: "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God." (James 4:1-2)

James' audience was looking for something they didn't have. They were seeking to find fulfillment and happiness via the material. When they didn't get the objects of their desire, they fought amongst themselves either out of jealousy or frustration. When they finally do turn to God it's for selfish gain. I think this must be similar to Jesus' parable about the workers in the vinyard (Matthew 20). Instead of being happy with what they earned, the workers grumbled that others got the same pay, but worked for less. Their eyes were on the wrong thing.

I've explored a few things that cause division disease, but I don't want to dwell too long on the negative. Tomorrow I will look at some prescriptions for the cure in "What Causes Unity?"

Wednesday's Big Idea: Unity

This is a new series I'm starting called Wednesday's Big Idea. Every Wednesday a group of men gather to pray and generally a theme emerges - either explicitly or implicitly. This is where I tell you what I think the Big Idea was, the supporting scriptures that came out (or that I think would work) and some analysis of the idea.

If you want to get in on the prayer time, please come! 6:00am, every Wednesday, Sylvan Hill Church, Portland, Ore.

Unity - Psalm 133
"How good and pleasant it is for the brothers to live together in unity!", thus David opens the 133rd Psalm. David recognizes that the oneness of God's people is a good thing. It was what we were designed for and certainly God desires it for us. The following scriptures support that argument quite forcefully:

John 17:20-26
Psalm 86:11
Isaiah 2
Matthew 22:34-40

I'm sure you can find more. In contrast take a look at Proverbs 6:19 these are strong words - "There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:...a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers."

Unity is a critical element for us, without it we are divided and ineffective. But how do we achieve unity? Rick offered these four observations about unity:

1) Unity begins with God. God was undivided at the beginning (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) and remains eternally unified. God is our source of unity and our unity begins with worshipping Him. His desire is that our hearts are one, focused on loving Him and living for Him.
2) We were designed for unity. "It is not good for a man to be alone" - (Genesis 2) God made us to live in commUNITY, starting with our families and extending to those around us.
3) A God-focused life brings not just interpersonal unity, but intrapersonal unity. We begin to see unity within ourselves - what we do, why we do it, how we do it. (see The Real vs. Ideal Life for my struggles with this.)
4) The divided becomes unified when God is the utmost, central, highest thing in our life. This point affirms my thoughts that God-focus is the first step in clarifying our purpose in life.

How, then, should we pray? It starts with worship of God, turning our divided hearts into undived hearts (Psalm 86). It then moves on to John 17 ("I pray that they may be one as we are one.") Finally, we rejoice in the goodness of the fellowship of the saints (Psalm 133). If there is division, seek ways to unify and above all else pray! Especially pray together. Few things melt away division as well as hearts joined together in prayer to worship and glorify God.

More on this in a later post. Until then, that is Wednesday's Big Idea.

Rick P - Psalm 132, Word and Prayer

Rick sent out an invitation to Wednesday prayer and I just wanted to replay it here for your edification. Repeated in full with persmission (with one minor edit):

"Our yearly Bible reading for this morning included Psalm 132. The Psalmist is reminding God of his connection with the promise of David. He recounts and expands on what God promised David. One of our dear friends is in a trial that is testing the promise of God in his life. We had dinner with this man and his wife last night. After our morning reading, I asked my kids if Psalm 132 sounded like our friend and his situation. With very little prompting they soon were praying for the promise of David over the life of our friend. Caety prayed that God would give him a crown of splendor.( vs.18. ) I am learning over and over that prayer joined to scripture is a powerful tool, even in the hands of a child. RP"

Anthony:
Men's prayer is at 6:00am Wednesday morning
House of Prayer is ~6:30pm Wednesday morning (all are welcome!)
Women's prayer is 3:00pm on Tuesday
Sylvan Hill Church
5656 SW Humphrey
Portland, OR

Please come! We'd love to pray with you! Later - Wednesday's Big Idea, a new weekly series.

The Real vs. Ideal Life

I'm sure I'm not the only one out there who struggles with making God the utmost top priority in his life. I've been thinking lately how my job and the general busy-ness of life don't mesh well with what I percieve as the ideal spiritual existence.

I'm not unhappy with my job, in fact, I quite like it and it's how I provide for my family. The busy-ness tends to be things that have to or should happen: taking care of my son, cleaning the house, cooking, socializing with friends, etc. I enjoy those things as well, for the most part.

What I see as the challenge isn't so much "doing" things as making space in each of those things for God. Paul says to pray without ceasing, but I find that when I'm writing code, code is what fills up my mind. I don't know if it's physically possible to pray without ceasing - at least for me.

I'm almost certain that praying without ceasing is a mostly spiritual act. That is, the spirit remains in prayer while the flesh goes about doing its thing. I'm also certain, however, that such feats come with much work and discipline. And Perhaps that "spirit of power, love and self-discipline", no? (1 Timothy)

I suppose my idea of the ideal spiritual existence also needs examination. At this point it consists of praying more, reading the Bible more and spending more time with beleivers. I think it also encompasses the "works" that James talks about ("faith without works is dead".) Ultimately, it comes down to purpose and "completing the work [God] gave me to do." (John 17:4) I'm pretty sure that's near the top of the hierarchy of spiritual needs, but I think it must be striven for.

This leads to another long topic: discerning God's will for our lives. I'll leave that to another post. Until then, it's clear I need to actually try to pray more, read my Bible more and spend more time with fellow believers.