One of my younger siblings tells a childhood story about us that I do not remember. Every day after school, she would pick on me, but I was the one to get in trouble for it. Apparently, a day came when I got “sick of her” and threw her across the room. She claims to have seen stars but did not harass me ever again. Please do not judge us. We were tweenagers trying to find our way. Today, we are the best of friends!
The Bible provides clarity about what God expects from us. Consider Psalm 133:1-3,
“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.” (ESV)
Unfortunately, my sibling and I did not begin with unity but praise God that He navigated our pathway to it. In our story, the blessing included a great relationship. Imagine our communities and churches joining together in unity! We could all benefit from the “precious oil” upon our heads or “the dew of Hermon” causing fresh springs of mountain water to flow. God would certainly be glorified in our intentional pursuit of unity.
I suspect the enemy tries to keep us divided because he does not want us blessed. The Apostle Paul also identified a dangerous lack of unity in the community of believers concerning Holy Communion. 1 Corinthians 11:18-19 says,
“For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.”
Oh, I forgot to mention, my father made sure my little sister went with me everywhere (torturous, right?). I embraced the directive (eventually) and benefited greatly from doing so. Our father loved us both. As we submitted to his authority, we were truly blessed. His vision for us was greater than anything we could have imagined.
He and his brother used to fight daily too (we found out much later). Our families spent weekends together frequently, so they too, became very close. The genuineness of unity surfaced in our relationships just as Apostle Paul described.
We know our spiritual fathers would not give such granular instructions as biological fathers, but what about Holy Spirit? For my sibling and me, submitting to our father’s voice prepared us to hear and obey the voice of the Lord whom we met later. When we recognize Father’s voice, let us go “all-in” for whatever He has for us! After all, Father knows best!
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