The Unity of the Faith
One thing I've learned in life is that you aren't going to agree on everything with every single person you encounter. Backgrounds, upbringing, friends and family all have influence on people's perspective. Scripture shows us in Ephesians 4 that our goal should be to come together in the unity of the faith in the knowledge of the Son of God. In other words, we are eternally connected by believing that Jesus is the Son of God; that He lived on earth, died for our sins, and rose from the dead so that we could live in eternity with Him. Unity in Christ is the foundation upon which everything else in our lives should be built.
My friend Andy Stanley talks about this in his new book, Deep and Wide—Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend. He writes:
"For millennia, before the invention of concrete, builders used stones to lay a foundation for a new building. They gathered granite, marble, or limestone from a quarry and chiseled the material into giant brick-shaped blocks. They then selected one particular stone and designated it the "cornerstone"—the reference stone that would determine the placement of every other stone in the foundation. As they laid other stones end-to-end to form the outline of the building's foundation, they made sure each one was level and square with the cornerstone.
In a clever play on words, Jesus used Peter's nickname to connect his declaration to what was to come. The cornerstone or foundation for this new entity called 'the church' would be the belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Two millennia later, that is still the unifying factor within the church. Truth is, belief in Jesus as the Son of God is about the only thing all Bible churches hold in common. As Jesus predicted, Peter's declaration became the common ground and a compass point for everything that was to follow."
Today, instead of focusing on your differences, focus on your agreements. Focus on unity in knowing Christ and allowing Him to do His perfect work in every area of your life!
"This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ." (Ephesians 4:13, NLT)
My friend Andy Stanley talks about this in his new book, Deep and Wide—Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend. He writes:
"For millennia, before the invention of concrete, builders used stones to lay a foundation for a new building. They gathered granite, marble, or limestone from a quarry and chiseled the material into giant brick-shaped blocks. They then selected one particular stone and designated it the "cornerstone"—the reference stone that would determine the placement of every other stone in the foundation. As they laid other stones end-to-end to form the outline of the building's foundation, they made sure each one was level and square with the cornerstone.
In a clever play on words, Jesus used Peter's nickname to connect his declaration to what was to come. The cornerstone or foundation for this new entity called 'the church' would be the belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Two millennia later, that is still the unifying factor within the church. Truth is, belief in Jesus as the Son of God is about the only thing all Bible churches hold in common. As Jesus predicted, Peter's declaration became the common ground and a compass point for everything that was to follow."
Today, instead of focusing on your differences, focus on your agreements. Focus on unity in knowing Christ and allowing Him to do His perfect work in every area of your life!
"This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ." (Ephesians 4:13, NLT)