Reflecting on Acts 1:12-26“They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.” (Acts 1:14)
Jesus is gone, but He is still with them (Matthew 28:20).
He is still gathering His disciples together.
Two or three or more, gathered and praying in His Name.
What unites this diverse group of people is their experience of Jesus.
They still have many differences, but they have one thing in common.
Is Jesus the one thing that still unites church gatherings?
Are we known as a people who earnestly seek Jesus in prayer?
Is Jesus’s mission and Jesus’s message still what drives us?
Is it Jesus that we are still witnessing to, to the ends of the earth?
I ask because I fear that Jesus is not what unites many churches.
We are more divided by our differences than united by our Lord.
We are not known to be Jesus’s disciples by our love for one another.
Unity is not found in confessional, denominational, political or racial sameness.
We all desperately need Jesus, we all depend on His grace and guidance.
Jesus is with us when we stand together despite our differences in His Name!
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, I am reminded again that there is only one, set apart, universal church. You have one family, and all those who are sincerely, desperately, hopefully seeking You belong to it. Tear down the dividing walls of hostility we have rebuilt among us, and make us one with You.
Jesus is the answer. Why do I volunteer my services? Because of Jesus. He is thereason for serving. He is my living for Jesus. He is the reason each day to be an instrument of His peace. He provides the unity we should have together – to be one in the Lord. All for Jesus! Living together in unity, serving our Creator. May that be my vision and mission each day.