Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

With more than two thousand denominations, sects, and nondenominational bodies, the Church of Jesus Christ seems to be anything but unified. Some of the divisions are cultural, others are doctrinal, while still others are kind of hard to pinpoint. If you were to delve into the various splits that have occurred down through the ages, you would probably find one particular event that brought about each separation.

It is my opinion that most divisions point to the inability of people to find a common ground when worshiping the Lord. Of course, if Biblically-accepted doctrine is put to the side, then separation must take place for the sake of maintaining doctrinal purity. I just wonder if some of the splits down through the ages involved church power struggles or over a particular disagreement of insignificance.

For more than two years now I have been part of a weekly men’s group where we study scripture, pray and encourage one another. We meet for one hour before we go to work, starting our week off seeking the Lord and encouraging one another. As time has gone by I have seen our group get stronger as the men are actively participating and are encouraging each other. We all attend the same church, but our backgrounds, jobs, ages, and ethnicities are quite different — what is common to each of us is our faith in Jesus Christ.

Reading the rest of Psalm 133 gives a vivid illustration on how much of a blessing the Psalmist considered the unity of God’s people to be — like oil running down the beard and garments of Aaron; like dew found on Mounts Hermon and Zion. The result? Life forevermore.

As a follower of Jesus Christ we can and will disagree on some nonessential points and that is to be expected. Unity that really matters doesn’t overlook essential doctrine, but affirms and strengthen core beliefs the same faith once delivered to the saints.

Popularity: 1% [?]