unity

Everyone is great at something.

Unity is similar to love in many ways. We all want it, but few ever really sustain it. It’s talked about constantly, but rarely pursued with passion. And it’s very misunderstood.

I’m always shocked at how many people think “unity” means “uniformity.” They just assume that the whole idea is born out of a very negative, don’t-be-who-you-are-but-change-into-this kind of philosophy. (You’ll just have to use your imagination for the mean authority figure shaking his/her finger at you.) Most people see the huge benefits of unity, but don’t fully buy into it because, well, they want to be who they are. They are a round peg and see a square hole; they don’t want to be forced into it. And for good reason!

Now, to be fair, there is a very serious discussion regarding sin and surrender that every person needs to have. Jesus invites us to come to Him just as we are. But we cannot stay that way. That is the vision behind the second phase of our mission statement—living like Jesus. But once we become Christians, once we surrender to Him and begin to follow His lead, once we launch out into leadership of our own, it’s a whole new ball game.

God made me unique. And He did it on purpose! He only wants one of me running around His creation. There has never been nor will there ever be a human being exactly like me. And the same is true of you. God deliberately made us with our own talents, abilities and skill sets. He doesn’t want us forced into something we’re not any more than we do. Thankfully, though, that’s not at all what unity is about.

Unity is about working together. It’s figuring out how our uniqueness—our own particular quirks and idiosyncrasies—can complement, bless and function within the overall Body of Christ. The Apostle Paul’s metaphor here is brilliant! We each only have one body, but that unified body is made up of different parts. Those parts each have unique characteristics and strengths that we are quite foolish to ignore. Have you ever tried to open a jar with your feet instead of your hands? Not easy. Ever try to eat lunch through your ears instead of your mouth? Not fun, nor satisfying…and really messy. We intuitively recognize that our different body parts do different things. And they have to work together in unity to accomplish even the slightest task like opening the closet door. Why, then, is it so hard for us to comprehend and appreciate unity in the Body of Christ?

To experience unity is to experience teamwork. We play off of and rely upon each other’s different abilities, but the goal is not a great individual stat sheet, but to win the game. To flow in unity is to flow in harmony. We each sing different notes and maybe even melodies, but can join those together to form one beautiful song. To know unity is to know motivation. Nothing pushes and drives us like seeing those close to us excel and thrive. To discover unity is to discover one’s spiritual gifts. It’s those God-given, in-born, supernatural talents that really set us apart as unique and cause us to be so valuable to the rest of the Body.

Unity is a very high standard to reach for, but Holy Seed Community Church is reaching anyway. We want to be known as a church that works together, with other churches, with government, etc. We don’t claim to be the experts on everything and never will. Nobody is great at everything, but everyone is great at something.