“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” (Psalms 133:1) Unity. Being of one mind. Joined together in a single purpose.

We like to think that, as believers, we are united with a single purpose, don’t we? And that is to bring Jesus and His message of love and forgiveness to all. Noble idea, very noble indeed. But are we content when we’ve done the work and yet the soul we’ve won attends another church?

Ouch. That may hit home pretty hard with some of us. The truth, no matter how hard it is to swallow, is that we may feel just a twinge of hurt or jealousy. And the other side of that truth coin is that another person has accepted Christ, which is what we were trying to do ... wasn’t it?

Since the beginning of Christianity, there have been disputes as to the “right way” to worship the Lord. Just read into some of the writings of Paul and you’ll see. Today, we still have differing views regarding worship, whether they relate to music, prayer, manner of dress, baptism, etc. These distinctions don’t matter a hill of beans if we don’t all have the single mindedness that Jesus, the Son of God, bore our sins on the cross where He died, and that He rose from His grave, opening an avenue to eternal life for any who have accepted Him into their hearts. There’s our unity, our singleness of purpose. Whether one attends this denomination or that one, if one believes with one’s heart that truth, then there is solidarity. Jesus spoke to this very ideal when He said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.” (Matthew 12:25b) Does that not hold true in every situation, including those who call themselves the Lord’s people, His church?

So, let us rejoice when another soul turns to Christ, regardless of the name above the door of the building where they worship. Let us be true to what we have called our belief - everyone who claims Christ as Savior and who worships God alone and does His will is of the same mind and is therefore our brother or sister. We are a house united and we are strong!