Day 178, or June 27th.
Unity is not uniformity.
Our thoughts today are rooted in Psalm 133, verse 1.
How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity.
First the big picture surrounding this verse.
Our Psalms today are once again all called Songs of Ascent, bringing the full total to
15.
It seems logical, bearing in mind that Jerusalem is built on seven hills, that all who approach
it will be ascending.
Many pilgrims even today will sing these Psalms whilst they ascend as they approach the temple
in Jerusalem.
It's very probable that those being led back into the Promised Land by Ezra, many centuries
before Jesus was born, sang them too.
Today there is a flight of worn stone stairs at the southern wall of the Temple Mount,
which are called the Rabbinic Steps, where Jesus would certainly have taught.
Sometimes Christians visiting this special place stop on each step and read one of the
Songs of Ascent, as they ascend towards the ancient temple entrance at the Huldah Gates.
And now our action step for today.
A modern criticism from unbelievers is how divided the church is today.
I believe one of the reasons for such comments comes from confusing the word unity and uniformity.
After the general election in the UK in 2010, two parties got together to form the Tory
Lib Dem coalition.
This produced immediate complaints that the Lib Dems and Conservatives were constantly
fighting their own party political corners.
Of course they were.
Simply putting them together in the same government didn't make them identical any more than
putting all Christians together in a big arena would produce uniform Christianity.
If we concentrate on all the things that divide us, we will always be divided.
If we focus on all the sound doctrine that unites us, then we are the united body of
Christ.
Our aim should be to show people that we are disciples of Jesus.
John Chapter 13 and verse 35 tells us how,
Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.