The Power of Love And Unity

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The Power of Love And Unity

by Theodore Young Jr.

Jesus spoke to the church in John 17:21-22 before the birth of the church. He spoke to the characteristic of being one as Jesus was with God and as the disciples were with Jesus. Jesus knew in order for the Body to complete His mission, there would need to be unity in the Body. Jesus gave the greatest commandment of loving Father God with everything within us and also loving our neighbor as ourselves. However, a needed element would also be unity in the Body of Christ. Jesus knew the Gospel

would be at its most effective where His Body would be in unity: first with God, and then with one another.

Jesus commanded the disciples to love one another. He shared with them that their love would prove to the world that they were His disciples (John 13:34-35). God sent His Son into a lost and sinful world to reconcile us with Him. Jesus came for the hopeless, the marginalized, and the disconnected of this world. That love is the key to the good news message. It is the draw to those with no hope and the overlooked of this world. God wanted us to draw the lost to Christ so that they would share in a relationship with the Heavenly Father. With these divine commands, we have received the “Great Commission” to teach and make disciples. If the Protestant church here in America were to receive a spiritual checkup, what would be the results of that assessment?

Do the unsaved see one church in many locations, or do they see different churches? Does the world see the church of Jesus Christ, or do they see White, Black, Latino, or Asian churches? Do they hear the church sharing the same message with different voices? Does the world hear the Gospel message or a worldly influenced political message coming from the church? Are we as Christians sharing how Jesus impacted our lives? Even deeper, is the church continuing to allow politics to pollute our God-given messages? Do Christians define their beliefs based on their political views? Are we focusing in more on numbers than people? These are difficult questions to answer and even more difficult to ask. However, as Christians, we must examine ourselves and our motives. We are prone to stray from the path that God has laid out before us. God’s word states, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jerimiah 17:9). In our current times, we no longer have the option to navigate in this world as small businesses or large corporations. We do not have the luxury of ministering as Lone Rangers. We cannot look at the nonbeliever and describe them as “those people” anymore. One-third of the New Testament commands and speaks to unity in the Body of Christ. Love is another one-third of the New Testament’s commands for the Body of Christ. These are not suggestions. These are characteristics we practice in obedience to God. These are our God’s methods of operation and practice. Unity and love is not just a good sermon but a way of life for the believer. It has to be demonstrated by pastors, leaders, and the congregation in harmony with one another.

The Author Theodore Young was born and lived in Bronx, NY, for 42 years. Married 21 years and father of two teenage daughters. He Accepted Christ in his life over 32 years ago. and works as a licensed social worker in the state of TN.

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