It gives me great joy and fulfilment as a shepherd when I see signs of authentic unity in LAT.
The first part of the ‘body’ where this unity is palpable is our worship team. Our worship team really behaves like a healthy family. There is a strong bond between them that is enviable. That must be one of the reasons why, like we all know, their service is a great pleasure to Heaven.
Concerning the rest of the congregation, one can sense a good degree of oneness among them especially when the Sunday services end. It sometimes even feels like the service only begins after it has ended, because that is when you see real fellowship taking place as people joyfully interact with one another. For all this, we give God the glory.
Now, how can this authentic unity of the body of Christ be maintained and even taken to greater heights? I guess the answer lies in how it was achieved in the first place. Hours before Jesus was crucified, He told The Father that, “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one” (John 17:22). My simple understanding of this verse in the context of unity is that it is only the glory of God that can bring about true spiritual unity of the body of Christ. When believers in Jesus are all awed by His glory, and constantly seeking to glorify Him, then a oneness will in the spirit take place between them, and this will evidently be witnessed in the physical.
There are many things organizations do to build ‘winning teams’ and achieve unity among their members. Many churches even co-opt these psychology team building techniques. However, churches will only achieve carnal and superficial unity, which is of no interest to God, if the emphasis is not placed on the glory of God. To me, Jesus was and still is very clear according to John 17:22 that only the glory of God can bring about true oneness or unity.
Therefore my brothers and sisters, let us continue to seek to experientially know the Lord, behold His glory, and glorify Him for what we all know He is worthy of. As each one of us individually does so, then His glory will descend in our midst every time we congregate, and that glory will tightly knit us together the way Jesus expects His body on earth to be. Hallelujah!
I will end by applauding our worship team for always doing all that they are spiritually able in order to usher into our midst the glory of God which has bonded us in true unity.
God bless you.