“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!”

— Psalm 133:1

I remember when I was newly converted I was invited by a friend to attend a country church. As I pulled up in front of the church, I could see that there was a big conflict brewing between the church members outside. There was a man at the front of one group and another man in front of the other group, and they were yelling at each other. I had no idea what they were talking about.

Here I am, six or eight weeks old in the Lord, and I’ve been invited to learn about Christianity from my friend, and they are just about to go at it with fisticuffs, and I thought any moment this is going to turn into a huge brawl. I was so astonished, and I remember wondering is this what Christianity is all about?

I remember how repulsed I was by that, and I thank God for His persevering grace that held on to me in spite of that. Of course, that’s no excuse for us to us to say something like, “If so and so is a Christian, I don’t want to have any part of Christianity.” That’s like saying, “If he’s going to go to hell, then I’m going to go to hell too.”

Problems of pride and desire for preeminence often cause Christians to not act Christianly sometimes toward each other. How pleasant it is when Christians work well together in unity.

Lord, give us strength to live at peace with all men, especially our fellow Christians. Forgive us for the pride in our hearts that too often prevents us from getting along with our fellow believers…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN EXPERIENCE
UNITY IN THE BODY OF CHRIST.