Jn 17:21   that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

   

Church unity is often a tricky thing. Individual churches are often very defensive and individuals within churches are often very individualistic. Yet Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, was asking his Father to bring a unity among his future church. The unity he prays for here is a unity that comes from all believing the same message – the Gospel. The first unity that the Church has is unity of belief for indeed, you cannot become a Christian without believing the Gospel.

But then he says he wants the same unity that the Father and the Son experience, a unity of being, or of Spirit, so the second unity that the Church has is in the Spirit. He goes on to ask that it is also a unity in the Godhead and so two particular characteristics come to mind – holiness and love. Holiness is about being different, pure, whole, good. Love is about expressing that towards others. Thus the third expression of unity is being holy and different from the world, given over to God, and the fourth expression of unity is a unity of love that is a love first within the Church and then to the world outside.

 

Imagine what the Church would be like if every expression of church showed a people who were different because of their belief, the Spirit's presence, their goodness and their love. Such a picture leaves no room for personal politics or petty minded squabbling. Let's get rid of all that!