I have distinct memories of the Sweetman “bus period”. We had no where to live and so good friends lent us a bus. We parked it in my parents backyard, ran a power chord to my parents’ house and while Dean and I had a bed, the kids slept on bus seats. It was a difficult time.
In times like these, it’s hard not to look around and think why me. We know that there are worse scenarios but we tend to still compare ourselves to those doing better.
We’re not in the bus anymore. We are far from it. It’s just a humorous memory but it also was a launching pad for a better life.
Before the bus, we had goals. We wanted to be blessed. These goals were still with us in the trying time of living in a bus. The goals were achieved as we dealt with the stuff in our lives that had led to this living standard.
In 1 Chronicles 4:8-10, Jabez asks God for blessing. One component that accompanied his request was pain. In fact Jabez’s name meant ‘pain’. He knew pain well.
It’s not that we should seek out painful situations but we should understand that the path to blessing can involve pain.
Pain doesn’t necessarily mean that we are on the wrong path or out of the will of God. We may just be well on the way to our blessing.
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“I will build my church and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” (Matthew 16:18). These are the words of Jesus. Therefore it’s not worth trying to criticize or tear down the church. It just means that there are battles to fight in life.
People fought persecution in the Bible. It cannot be avoided. We can try to hide or even swap sides such as is seen in a battle between David and the Philistines. This though only causes confusion.
God will build the church in spite of every thing, even our opinion
So why do we fight unity?
No one apart from God knows another thoroughly, not even in marriage. Therefore at times, opportunities to doubt another are plentiful. To doubt is easy because each of us is filled with imperfection.
Unity means that we are united despite imperfection. Our strengths strengthen another in vulnerable times. Unity doesn’t mean that we default because of another’s faults.
At other times, we’ll want to default from unity to justifies ourselves. Another may be under accusation and so we use his situation to justify our actions. We will say things such as “we knew in our gut” or “I just knew”. We therefore believe the Lord is vindicating us. We build a case against the person to justify our position. Of these situations though, Jesus informs us in Matthew 7:3, to look at our own faults rather than those of another.
Lastly, we fear for our own reputation. What if I appear a fool by remaining united? What if I’m believing the wrong person?
Our reputation though is to be risked for that of Christ’s. Jesus gave up His reputation and became a servant to others (Philippians 2:7).
God is still building His Church no matter what.
We are to align on God’s side. We dont create our own side and expect God to join us. We are to stand for Christ and therefore remain in Him even if it’s uncomfortable. Standing on His side means that we remain united through the good but also the tough times. Better to take this position than sitting on the sidelines swinging useless punches and causing confusion.
Unity means that we will fight disunity. It means that we believe God and His promises in the Bible rather than succumbing to passing and temporary hearsay.
Don’t waste time creating chaos. Rather build the church, help others up when they stumble. Stand for Christ and His church.
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