Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
Psalm 133
There's a great movement in the religious world for unity. Actually, there has long been a plea for unity among people of different faiths. So what do we make of this? On the surface, the concept is appealing. And there is a plea in the Bible for unity. However, the Biblical notion of unity is often far different than what people want and seek.
The Bible teaches us to be united. But it teaches us to be united only in the Lord:
I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.
Philippians 4:3
Paul instructed these two individuals to come to agreement. But not only were they to come to agreement, but they had to have the right basis for it. If they were of the same mind, but it wasn't what the Lord wanted, if their agreement wasn't agreement with Christ, then what good was it? They might be united in the short term, but the end of it would have been falling short of what Christ wanted for His followers.
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
Colossians 2:6
Our lives as a Christian can be described as a walk with God. We strive to follow Him and we strive to do as He would do. But we cannot do this unless we are in agreement with Him.
Can two walk together, except they be agreed
Amos 2:2
If we want to walk with Christ, we must be unified with Him. We must shape ourselves to His will. And of course, in this way we are unified with anyone else who walks with Christ. We must first unify ourselves with Christ, and then we find ourselves unified with others in the Lord. That is the basis for Christian unity. Not an agreement to disagree, not a willingness to overlook false teaching or error, not putting friendship with others above friendship with God.
True Christian unity comes only in being first united with Christ. That is the basis for commonality with others around us. It's something we all need to bear in mind. We can only truly be bonded together if we are bonded to Christ.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
I John 1:7
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