WAKE UP!

Over the past few weeks, the word "unity" has been stuck in my head. It wasn't until the other day that I understood why.

In my area, there are a lot of churches. I mean, seriously. There's basically a church on every corner of the community. However, unity doesn't seem to be the a strength among the communities within the buildings. While some of the members of the various churches are friends and build each other up, I see a lot of "my church is better than your church" and bashing. Why are we doing this? It gets us nowhere and doesn't help anyone. We're working as individual buildings, individual bodies within the bodies of our "church homes" and getting very little done.

It's time to stop with our petty arguments and egos and that "my church is better" arguments and realize that we need to work together. We ARE to be ONE. 1 Corinthians 12:12 says, "Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ." Yet, we aren't working as one body.

It's time to change this. We need to begin breaking down the walls that we've built up over the years and start reaching out, linking hands and encouraging each other, regardless of which building we go to on Sunday mornings. We need to meet with other believers, praying with them and for them, regardless of their denomination. We need to start looking out for each other, reaching out with each other and working together. We need to start weeping and rejoicing with each other.

We need to quit the seperate church acts and start acting as ONE body. We need to unite. We need unity. I don't know how it's going to happen but I know it needs to.

Imagine what the Church could do if we worked together! Imagine how many more lives could be touched!

Ephesians 4:2-6 states, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

What are we waiting for? We're not getting any younger. We're wasting time. Time that we don't have; time that is limited.

The only things that are stopping us are our pride and the enemy. And Jesus has already defeated both. It's time to live in the freedom He's given us and unite as ONE.

There's a reason "unity" has been rolling around in my head. It's because we need it. We need to wake up to the call stated in Romans 6:5, John 17:3, Philippians 2:1-3 and countless other passages in the Bible and become the body that Christ wants us to be. Are you awake? Are you willing to do something and change this?