The world does not need our tongues, our prayers, or our songs as much as they need our unity.  How heavy must have been the burden on Jesus’ heart when foreseeing that after His crucifixion CNN, FOXNEWS, the tabloids and random bloggers would try to rip His Body apart.  It seems especially when drama unfolds, the church is scattered and amnesiac (Peter).

In John 17:21 Jesus expresses His desire that believers would be one so that the WORLD may believe that God sent Him.  It appears that the greatest evangelical strategy is not tracks, crusades, and altar calls; the credibility and authenticity of Jesus’ entire mission and message hinges on our commitment to oneness with each other.  Might we consider this the next time we are tempted to belittle another believer or demean another ministry or spiritual leader?  When they solicit your opinion, though valid your perception may be, ask yourself does this bind the Body to heal it? Or expose it, leaving it vulnerable to infection? Apparently, the world is watching.

In the diagnosis of Multiple Personality Disorder, trauma introduced into the person’s life causes them to fragment the self in order to cope with the trauma.  The person slips in and out of identities each having their own perception and interaction, operating independently of the other.  Similarly, when the church is traumatized, we have heard multiple voices arise. Therapeutic rehabilitation of this disorder, ironically, includes unifying or integrating the identities under the control and command of ONE consciousness rather than silencing their unique expression.

I want to offer this: God is not asking you to be any less of you than He originally designed you to be.  He’s just asking you to be that to the benefit of others.  Unity is not the matter of sameness.  Everybody doing the same thing is not unity; it’s redundancy. Unity is about all the parts working together as one unit though several functions exist. The Godhead is an example of this: they are ONE, yet three distinct expressions of person.

Unity is established first through self-discovery. Do you know yourself? And are you secure in that identity? Then, we can embrace and celebrate one another’s identity, function, unique qualities and characteristics without competition or criticism.

The thought pattern that leads to disunity is found in 1 Corinthians 12:15-16

“If the foot should say, because I AM NOT… And if the ear should say, because I AM NOT….”

Notice how disunity begins with comparisons of inferiority: “what I AM NOT.” Devaluing your unique contribution to the whole leads to broken commUNITY. When we discount our own value, it translates into a devaluation of the whole and others.  That’s why people who cannot get along with others usually are manifesting self-rejection.  They are acting out of anticipated rejection from others because their perceived difference makes them feel insecure.  Who you believe you ARE NOT will cause you to disappear, when you are really needed to BE who you ARE.  Your uniqueness is not a license for isolation; your usefulness is found in integration.

Coming into unity by integrating your identity with others enhances the purpose of your life and cause value for others to emerge.  Ultimately, it takes all of us to reflect the complete image of God: yeah, He’s that big! The human body is many-membered, but ONE body: So also is Christ.  Perhaps when the world sees the church unified in this manner, they will have a more complete picture of Jesus’ identity, find Him irresistible and believe.