The Key Element That Can Preserve the Unity of Christ DR. STEVE GREENE for Charisma News
We make a subtle choice when we enter a meeting. We choose unity or division by our words and body language.
Pause for a moment to consider how Christ would join our meeting. We don’t have to stretch too far to understand the impact of that question.
Add this verse to your consideration: “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16b).
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A tiny personal pronoun Paul includes here rocked my thinking. “We” have the mind of Christ. When I’m working, I walk into rooms filled with people who are Christ-minded. We work together with the mind of Christ.
When I walk into a room in my home, I see people who have the mind of Christ. The same is true when I enter my church. The truth is, I really don’t care to walk into a room that isn’t occupied by the mind of Christ.
But I realized I may have been praying this verse with the wrong mindset. As I pray, I ask God to help me think with the mind of Christ. I also hope everyone thinks the way I do because I love short meetings.
How many meetings have you attended where confusion springs up and small spats spark? Voices rise and tensions heighten. Suddenly, more people talk and fewer speak.
“In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty” (Prov. 14:23, author’s emphasis).
“Yes, my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak right things” (Prov. 23:16, author’s emphasis).
These verses build a case for opening every meeting with prayer for the mind of Christ to unify our hearts.
This is how we pass the test of Ephesians 4:3: “Be eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” The mind of Christ energizes our eagerness for unity.
Our meetings should be staffed with preservation agents. We should ask God to send us keepers of “the unity of the Spirit.” I’ve attended meetings with security guards at the door, but true security in our meetings permeates when peace abounds. We need peace preservers more than we need life preservers.
