I Smell Unity...

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"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

Ephesians 1:17-21, NIV

I was a perfect heathen today and skipped church. Gasp - I know. I usually alternate between teaching Sunday school and playing with our worship team, both of which I love. They are occasionally taxing commitments as well, as they involve a 5:30am wake up call, followed by prep time and three services. 

This Sunday was the first time in I-don’t-know-how-long that I was not placed on the schedule for either team. I took advantage of the opportunity to sleep in, make a large cup of coffee, and spend an extended amount of time reading the Bible. It was glorious.

I found myself camped out in Ephesians - such a hopeful and inspiring book. I felt melancholy as I finished the sixth chapter, wishing Paul had found another piece of parchment to continue on to. Hope can feel so rare in the world, and it gleams it Ephesians like a pearl beneath the stormy waves of life. There on the bottom of the ocean floor is blessed silence and stillness. 

One of the themes that stood out to me today was unity. Oh, sweet unity. It is even harder to find today than peace. Worst of all, it is absent in the church. Isn’t that why we have a church on every corner - not because one building is too small to host all of us, but because we each want to do things our own way and not be bothered by this annoying, “un-holy” idea of compromise and seeing another's needs as more important than our own.

These thoughts were still on my mind as I took Squirrel on a windy walk this cool February day. 

Now, you need to know that Squirrel must stop and sniff every bush, mailbox, and telephone pole along the way, whereas I am more of a “let’s get to where we’re going as fast as we can” kind of person. My willingness to compromise really comes down to how much time I have to spare for our walk and how cold I am. His willingness to compromise comes down to how hard I drag him off by his leash. 

As a theological exercise, I made it my goal during this particular walk to allow him to sniff in two spots to every one I made him skip. The goal was to get us home before I needed a walker to finish the path, but with him still coming out on top of the equation. I chose to bend to his will more than my own.

Okay, so it was a silly idea. I’m not living out the words of Ephesians by letting Squirrel sniff extra dog pee on our walk. But the general idea still holds. I love Christ by the way I love other people, giving up my will to better serve them.

I am what you might call a “strong personality,” so surrender and compromise do not come naturally to me. My flesh is strong. The Spirit of my Lord inside me is stronger.

Holy Spirit, come show me how to see other people first and foremost as image-bearers of God. Show me how to relinquish my own will and my own rights to better serve them. Come give me a holy passion for unity.