Winners & Losers, Part 1
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. —Ephesians 4:1-6
Everywhere we look, our culture separates sides on the basis of these two designations. From the grade school spelling bee, to the grandstands of the Olympics, from television ratings between program or anchors, to the best and worst dressed at some gala event, from the Monday Night Football score, to the stocks you’ve secured for your retirement portfolio—you’re on one side or the other. A winner or a loser.
Two sides to any and every given scenario.
Two potential outcomes for every situation.
Two.
But this isn’t just the world, some protest, it’s the Bible. What about the wheat and the chaff, the sheep and the goats, the wide road and the narrow?
Good point.
But I’d suggest that those distinctions are outcome-based realities, not agenda-setting objectives. That’s the difference.
When a football team takes the field, their goal is not to tie or all have a nice time trying their best—it’s to win. That’s their job. That’s how their “success” will be evaluated. Did they or didn’t they have the most points on the board when the time was gone?
God’s intent, however is not two, but one.
One.
“Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”(Mark 12:29)
“I and the Father are one.”(John 10:30)
“The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one, even as we are one.” (John 17:22)
And in marriage, we’re reminded that “they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). That’s further accentuated when Jesus says “What therefore God has joined together, (can you finish it?) let not man separate” (Matthew 19:6).
Unity, oneness; that’s our goal. That’s where we start—not with an adversarial or defensive posture—not with an understanding that in this disagreement or marital tiff there will be a winner and a loser, but instead, that we might maintain oneness. No separations. Not two, one. —Joel Anderson
Journal:
- Where in my life do I display the least amount of unity with others?
- Why is that? What can I do about it today?
Prayer – Father, Your Word says that You desire for Your children to live in harmony with one another. I know that when I obey You, You are glorified and magnified. This draws the unsaved to You. Forgive me for the times when my goals in life are not for Your kind of unity, but for my kind of desires. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
