Christians are to live in unity with God and one another. Unity is “oneness”. Unity creates oneness wherein our lives intertwine with the lives of those in our Christian Inner Circles and creates concern for what is happening in their lives.

Unity with one another begins with our oneness in Jesus. Our unity is to be in the person of Jesus Christ. We are one in Christ. He is our common identity. He lives in each of us.
The Apostle Paul asked, as recorded in 2 Cor 13:5, “do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?” There are many Bible verses declaring that Jesus lives in us and we in Him.

The most important model for unity is God Himself. God has three personalities, God the Father, God the Son (who is Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. In their unity, the three Persons of the Trinity fuse into One God. They are “one” in complete, unchanging unity with One Another. Fortunately for us, they are not like the Greek mythical gods that fought each other and made life so unpredictable. No, the three persons of our One God are one, they are stable, they never contradict one another or fight one another.

Fantastically, because the foundation for our oneness is our unity with Jesus Christ, we can live together in unity as one body made up of all Christians, – a husband and wife can be one flesh, – and friendships and families can be steady and dependable relationships.

Dedication to the One living in us can help us walk away from differences that divide us. Jesus should be the first and final consideration when anything threatens to disturb unity between believers.

We are the body of Christ and unity is essential for all of us to work together to glorify God. The many Scriptures that make up the Togethers require this unity. Therefore, obedience in life requires unity with one another.

Unity with one another is critical in our closest and most treasured Christian relationships.
Christian friendship groups are vulnerable to Satan’s attacks. Perceived slights, resistance to one another’s spiritual help when someone is tempted or strays from righteousness, and a number of other things can rip away at the bonds of oneness as a friendship group.

Christian families have hundreds of relationship challenges that can dismantle unity, although bloodline permanency usually draws people back into relationship eventually. Yet, serious rifts in family relationships can last for years and cut off so many good things that require the foundation of unity.

And, Christian marriages are tremendously vulnerable to forces that attack the unity necessary for stability and joy.

None of us argues with the fact that unity is preferable. Therefore, we must never stop getting to know Jesus better and better. Seeking Jesus will help us manage our disagreements in such a way that preserves essential unity. Eventually we will hear Jesus and understand what He wants. Unity must be protected.

Therefore, the secret to stopping disunity is to seek to understand Jesus in each situation. What is the Lord’s position with whatever divides or separates us? Is He happy? Is He sad? Does He think differently? Just like when our computers get confused and are “thinking things through” and we see a little circle going around or a line getting longer, we need to pause as long as it takes to get in touch with Jesus until the path to unity is revealed.

Since unity is so important, we must place it at a higher priority than anything that divides us. This is true in all Christian relationships, but especially in marriages, families, and friendships. Unity is love for our Savior. Being inside of us, He is saddened whenever we withhold love from one another because of disagreements or self-centeredness. Let’s make our Lord joyful with unity in our closest relationships.

Unity in heaven will be automatic. With the absence of sin and no desires apart from the desires of God, there just won’t be anything to divide us. But, what if we have not lived in unity with our Christian brothers and sisters before death takes us to heaven? Worse, what if we have sown discord in our Christian friendships or families or marriages or church? What will be the effect on us when we are in heaven?

It seems that when we first arrive through the pearly gates of our eternal home, we will come with spirits developed or not developed much at all in unity with other believers. While in heaven there will be no disunity, there will be variation in our spirits’ abilities to perceive unity, to be aware of oneness. Each of us will be at that level of spiritual development achieved before death.

In heaven, our spirits will be able to grow to understand and sense unity and oneness more. However, strength of unity in our spirits developed before death against sin’s pressure to create disunity will have a strength not able to be developed in heaven. Therefore, progress will be slow in heaven for those who worked against unity between Christians before death. This is a compelling reason to seek unity now.

Whatever the gain for heaven, it will be related to level of closeness and inclusion in the lives of those with us in glory. Even now, before heaven, we can see examples of different levels of unity and oneness with others. If someone at work is excited about getting married, we can see those who are regularly checking in about wedding arrangements as well as joining in that person’s excitement. Those are the people who are united with the engaged person. They are more “one with” the person than those who seldom mention the upcoming wedding.

Pursuing unity gives us opportunities to grow in our faith through closer Christian relationships and enjoy this life more. It also prepares us for unlimited joys in heaven where fulfillment will come by “being with” people in their joy of God and their joy of life in paradise.

Heaven holds unlimited joy in relationships with people. We will enter into the delights of being both the body of Jesus and His bride. When ten of us visit one of heaven’s fantastic environments, being focused on everyone instead of just ourselves will magnify the joy ten times. And, Jesus looking in on us as a whole, ten of us all together finding joy in His creation and provision, will have the joy He has been waiting for.

Let’s prepare for the maximum experience of fellowship in heaven. Let’s join wholeheartedly with others in our Christian Inner Circles and become a little more “one” with them.

Ever been confused by a friend’s explanation of a wonderful time on his or her vacation? Ever wondered what your children meant when they announced some new adventure they were undertaking? Ever wonder why your spouse enjoys something so much? Since none of these examples are necessarily sinful, they will most likely repeat themselves in heaven. That deeper understanding we always wanted in all of our relationships will finally come because unity and oneness will be unchallenged by sin.

But, on this side of death when we are with our Christian families, there are so many things that can challenge unity. So many agendas flow simultaneously in family gatherings that it might be hard to remember that Jesus is with us and we are all one within Him. Therefore, Christian families must do things to remember Jesus’s living presence. Items of faith hung on our walls will only go so far. Anything repetitive will not match the fluidity of life. Frequent verbal recognition of Jesus as being part of the family is as critically necessary for life on the spiritual plane as breath is to physical life.

Satan seems to be most successful in breaking the unity of husband and wife. Nothing like marriage can force us into the image of Jesus Christ, so for that reason the devil attacks. The intertwining of two Christians still infected with the self-centeredness of the old self can create mild dissatisfaction to outright rejection of the spouse’s needs. The survival of Christian marriages depends on leaving behind unhelpful attitudes and behaviors because of love for the Savior. Spouses remembering Him and their oneness in Him more than their dissatisfactions is critical. Unity and oneness in the one-flesh relationship of marriage is critical to Christian society.

To prepare for heaven it is necessary to widen our scope of oneness and unity to believers all over the world. Gal 3:28 tells us, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Concerning unity or oneness with Christians worldwide, as well as in other locations around our city, state, and country, we can be involved in their lives by praying for their well being and spiritual growth. And, we wish it were more possible to protect our many fellow believers who are living in poverty, danger, or religious persecution. But, we can be one with them by praying for them from our hearts.

Because we are all new creatures in Christ woven into a body for Jesus, unity is imperative for the work of Christ to proceed unhindered. This is especially true in our Christian friendships, Christian families, and Christian marriages where most of the work of God should be done through the 65 Togethers of Scripture.

Let’s remember our oneness with Jesus and constantly let it establish unity between and among us.