"That They May Be One"
by Chaplain Jim Robinson
In John 17, Jesus prays over and over, “that they may be one” – at one with the Father, at one with Jesus, at one with the Holy Spirit, and at one with each other. All those who live in commitment to Jesus Christ are part of the Body of Christ, it is a wonderful thing. Whatever Christian denominational name one is identified with, the thing that matters is that we are part of the Body of Christ if we are seriously committed to Jesus Christ and He has cleansed our hearts and our lives. He says that we are to have this oneness. The reason we are to be one is that the world may believe in Him. That the world may know that He was sent from God. That He loves them. That He loves me.
People don’t become Christians only through the proclamation of the Gospel, not only through a preacher preaching the Gospel, not only through personal witness and testimony of individuals. Many times people become Christians because they become associated with a group of people that love God and love each other. There is power in that oneness, that unity – of being one in Jesus Christ. The most important thing in this whole world is the church of Jesus Christ, the family of God. The most important thing that can happen to any individual is to become a member of that family. I’m not referring to putting your name on a membership role of a particular local church, although that has it’s place. I’m talking about being spiritually born again, adopted into the family of God, being part of the Body of Christ. That is a wonderful, important thing that can happen to any one of us – to be adopted into His family, to belong to Him. The beautiful thing about it is there are differences all over the world, differences in local churches; even within the local church there are different ideas and opinions. I am glad that wherever one goes all over the world you can meet brothers and sisters from different denominations who love Jesus, and have close fellowship together.
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (I John 4:7-8) People come to the Lord because they are influenced by a group of people that love each other. We know that we are in Christ when the love of the brethren is present. The Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts. These things are true of those who make up the church of Jesus Christ.
“Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” (Philippians 1:27) The church of Jesus Christ is a loving and wonderful organism in the world. That is why that in such a wonderful, loving place, when things happen that don’t show the love of Christ, it stands out like a sore thumb. Every one gets nervous and uptight. Even people who aren’t involved become affected. Everybody is influenced. It’s a simple thing, if you get something in your eye your whole body is affected. Scripture uses the symbolism that we are all part of the body; some an eye, some an ear, some a foot, etc. We are all affected. When something happens to one person, usually sooner or later everyone is affected in one way or another. The church is so wonderful that when we don’t measure up, and we do things contrary to God’s will, it really shows up!
What do we need to do if something happens and we realize that we are relating in a way that is not according to God’s will? Very simple, just like any other sin we need to repent. There is no place in God’s family for any of us to have ill will toward any other brother or sister. You can’t always solve every relationship. Sometimes somebody has got it in for you and you don’t feel any harshness toward them at all, you love them. You can’t always bring resolution to every single situation. But you can make sure that there is not an individual that you have any bitterness or ill will against, because if you do, you need to repent. Someone who may be at the fringes of understanding what this is all about might say they have good reason. It doesn’t make any difference what the reason is, love them.
Two great examples of Christian love come to my mind. I remember a story told by Corrie ten Boom, who was in a concentration camp during World War II. She lost her family to the Nazis. Years later when she was speaking at a Christian gathering she met a German man who had been one of her guards at the concentration camp. He reached out his hand and asked her for forgiveness. Her first reaction was hostility. Momentarily she couldn’t find the Christian love. But almost immediately she realized that she could not have this. There was absolutely no room for hostility. She knew she had to forgive this man, and live in an attitude of forgiveness. The other example is Elisabeth Elliott, whose husband was killed by the Auca Indians. Not only did Elisabeth forgive those who had taken away her husband, she later went back into the tribe and ministered to these people. She saw many of them come to Christ. If I remember right, one of these men baptized her daughter. She lived in an attitude of forgiveness. We all have to do that, because we are children of God.
God is very patient with us because we are subject to failures. We have to be patient with one another. We have to learn to overlook some things. The Scripture says that love covers a multitude of sins. Love covers a multitude of mistakes. Love covers a lot! We have to learn to love each other in spite of some of the little things that may irritate us. You can’t live with a body of people without differences. We are all different. We have to overlook, we have to forgive, we have to love each other. The reason these conflicts show up so much is because God’s family is such a wonderful thing. There has to be love and acceptance in the Body of Christ. I know that it is inevitable that we are sometimes going to run into problems.
“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 1:13) Peter is talking about thinking through your spiritual position, reinforcing it in your thoughts, that you might stand firm and resist the temptation to flee, to escape, to run. What happens to many people when they run into a difficult situation? There is a tendency to run. Get away. What for? Why not just see it as a challenge that God has put in front of us? Let us commit ourselves to allow God to do whatever it takes to resolve the situation. Ultimately, trust Him. If we run, we are showing a lack of trust in Jesus. Can He help us solve such problems? Of course He can! It is just another opportunity, another challenge to serve Him and to watch Him do miracles. When I think back on my own life, it’s exciting to see how God has worked miraculously in solutions to difficult situations. All situations, in light of God’s power, are petty. Breeches of love do stand out and we are to resist the temptation to run from them.
I would like to remind you of the depths of God’s love. He loves us so much and is so patient with all of us. We need to learn to be more patient. We need to help create an atmosphere of love and peace. I’m not talking about an atmosphere that doesn’t allow for any disagreement. That isn’t peace. A peaceful and loving atmosphere is when you can disagree up front. You can talk to each other honestly and walk away still respecting and loving one another and committed to one another. This thing involves commitment to one another – kind of like a marriage. It doesn’t mean we overlook the other person’s faults. Sometimes we need to confront people’s faults and even rebuke them. But if you have to rebuke someone, don’t let it affect your attitude or respect toward them. You have to love them. You have to be willing to go out of your way to help them solve their problem. That’s what it’s all about.
“Beloved, let us love one another . . . “!
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