The Importance of Unity (Daily Refresh, 1-18-26)

What does unity mean to you? In a chaotic and divided world, sometimes the word “unity” can sound like something irrelevant, something that just can’t work in the broken world we live in. Division is nothing new. In fact, it was a challenge very early in church history and something the apostle Paul addressed head-on.

In 1 Corinthians 1, we see that Paul had received reports that believers in Corinth were segmenting themselves based on who shared the gospel with them. They said things like, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or, “I am of Christ.” Rather than being united as one body of Christ, they were dividing themselves into smaller groups and factions.

Paul was very moved by this. In 1 Corinthians 1:13 he asks them these simple questions: “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” Paul didn’t want the believers of Corinth to get lost in comparisons and separations. He wanted them united under Christ: one King, one Gospel. 

Paul brought them back to the only thing that matters: salvation is from Christ alone. Without Christ, there is no unity. But under Christ, we can be united in a way that the world has never seen or understood. 

In a world of fighting and division, the body of Christ gets to show the power of the Gospel. We are united, focused on Christ and only Christ.

My Thoughts

On Saturday, the state of Virginia got a new slate of officers. The governor is now Spanberger, a liberal who says that Virginia is now a “sanctuary state.” The lieutenant governor is a Muslim who took her oath on the Quran, the first state-elected office ever of a Muslim. And the attorney general, well, he’s the one who said he would like to kill those who didn’t believe as he did. My thoughts? I shook my head in sorrow and disbelief and prayed for my state and our nation. This is all very divisive, isn’t it?

So I am glad to have this devotional this morning. We didn’t make it to church on Sunday because of wintry weather and because I wasn’t feeling well and had to spend much of the morning in bed fighting dizziness. Anyway, here I am, happy to report that I am united with other believers in Christ, and I firmly believe that as Christians, we will be tested in our unity in the days to come. I don’t want to focus on the differences between denominations but on the one thing we have in common if we call ourselves CHRISTians. We are saved because of His sacrifice and because of His great love, we are to love on another. Period. The divisiveness between Christians needs to end so that we can stand together against those in the world who do not believe and who would seek to destroy our faith. If you don’t believe that is where we are headed, then you haven’t read and clearly understood the book of Revelation. Yes, in the end, we win! Hallelujah! But check out the persecution and destruction before the victory at the end. Truly, united we will stand as Christians if we want to make it through the dark days of the creeping takeover of our nation by the forces of unbelieving evil doers. Stand for Christ or fall for all of the lies. The choice is ours…make a good one!