“That you may with one mind and one mounth glorify
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”
(Romans 15:6).
The objective of unity is to lead us to praise, worship, and mission. The result of living to please ourselves is division and confrontation. When we act in agreement out of lovefor God, united by His sacrifice and committed to His mission, we glorify Him. That is the same thing Jesus taught in John 17 and the early Christian church lived, as recorded in Acts 2.
We are not the purpose of unity; the Lord is the foundation, the way, and the goal. It is not about grouping together to feel comfortable, safe, and strong, but glorifying God as faithful witnesses, as Jesus said, so that the world may know and believe (see John 17:21).
Unity is a mutual acceptance with the same feeling, purpose, and direction. José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti enjoyed singing together. “We are totally focused on giving our hearts to music, we cannot be rivals if we make music together,” they said.
We are not rivals if we do mission together.
Since Edmuund Hillary conquered the summit of Everest in 1953, some two hundred mountaineers have died in their attempts to reach the summit. “The practice of climbing mountains is not for the faint of heart” (John Maxwell).
Between 1920 and 1952, seven expeditions tried to conquer Everest. Tenzing Norgay was on six of those expeditions. All of them failed. However, in 1953, Tenzing embarked on his seventh expedition to the top of Everest with a British group. For each level the climbers reached, a higher degree of unity was needed. Some went ahead, making steps and securing the ropes.
On May 29, 1953, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary achieved what no one had achieved: standing on the highest peak in the world! Could they have done it alone? NO! Without the help of a great team? NO! Tenzing explained: “You don’t climb Everest in solitude or competition, you climb without selfishness and in unity. As the challenge grows, the need for teamwork increases. That’s the law of Mount Everest.”
“In their efforts to advance the work all will manifest that oneness of sentiment and practice which reveals that they are God’s witnesses, that they love one another. To a world that is broken up by discord and strife, their love and unity will testify to their connection with heaven. It is the convincing evidence of the divine character of their mission.” (Testimony Treasures, vol. 3, p. 156).
Our conquest is heaven, certainly a much higher peak than Everest’s.
Let us live in unity to glorify God and establish His kingdom.
Let us all go together because, just as with the summit of Everest,
you will not get there alone – you will be accompanied.
God bless you, let’s make heaven crowded…