Philippians 1:27 – Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
Compelling Thought:
Christians should be focused on unity so that the gospel can be proclaimed in unison.
A few days ago I stumbled across a video of a professional tug of war contest. Side note, did you know that there is literally a professional in anything you can think of? I digress, but this contest was intense! Both men and women lined on each side of the thick braided rope. Their muscles were bulging and the veins in their faces were all about to pop out of their head!
They were all 100% committed, in that moment, to accomplishing their goal – pulling the other team and the rope over the line. They were working in unison with each other to accomplish a simple task. After a few minutes, they finally won and with gladness, they all cheered that they were the victors.
God wants Christians, those that follow Him, to have unity around a common goal – the furtherance of the gospel! If you look at churches today, they are full of all different walks of life. They are composed of different demographics and different social backgrounds. This is the beauty of the gospel!
Galatians 3:28 says, There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
The gospel, the Good News that Jesus died for our sins, is what brings us together and gives us a purpose to unite. Unfortunately, we allow trivial things to become our focus, and that chips away at the unity that God wants for Christians. When the unity suffers so does the purpose for which we were created.
In Philippians, Paul was encouraging the church to put aside those things that caused disunity for they would pass away. He implored them to focus on what truly mattered — the Gospel. He encouraged them to strive together, to literally pull in the same direction towards a common goal.
We must strive together. We must all be committed to the purpose for which we were created: to honor God with our lives and point others to Him.
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