Ephesians 4:1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
We all long to belong! That is because we were created as social beings. When Adam was alone, “Genesis 2:18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Thus, the die was cast for humans to belong to each other and to God. Sadly, sinned corrupted God’s good creation and we all have received a self-serving ego. Nevertheless, sin did not destroy our longing to be whole again. The good news is that God intervenes with His Spirit to make us one again.
This wholeness requires our cooperation with the Holy Spirit. In other words, God helps us, but he demands that we do our part, that is why we are told to be “completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love…”
So as we all long to belong, may we each do our part, so that, God helping us, we will live in love and unity. Such unity will draw others to join us as we reflect the body of Christ in our broken and divided world!
In Unity!
Pastor Vern