John 17:20-23 says, "I do not pray for these(the disciples) alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And the glory which you gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one; I in them, and you in me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that you have sent Me, and have loved them as you have loved me."
Ok I understand the first verse. It's speaking my language; I'm golden. But the rest of them. What in the world are we talking about here? Well, priests in the old testament, like Aaron, Moses' brother, would get anointed. "How good and how pleasant" is expressing the abundance of the goodness of unity. So "the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments" is talking about how unity among God's people is so amazing that it is that abundant, it's just overflowing. I just picture someone pouring a bucket of precious oil over Aaron's head and he's just covered in it; all over his face, in his hair, his beard, his clothes are soaked in it. That’s how good and how pleasant this unity we're talking about is. It's not just that though. We're given another example. Ok, what or who is Hermon? This high mountain got so much water that it was actually a source of water to the lands below.
Ok so what I'm getting from this is that if God's people dwell together in unity, it's so good and so pleasant that the blessings of it overflow onto everyone around them. Okay, that matches up with my verses yesterday. "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." They had favor with everyone around them and most likely as a result of their intense unity and fellowship and closeness with God, the Lord added to the church daily. Everyone around them could see what they had and wanted a part of it. How good and how pleasant this is!!!
So many times, churches are trying so hard to reach out and bring people in but the church that they actually have is falling apart. There isn't any unity among the believers. It seems to me that if you're following the example of the church in Acts 2:42-47 and you're continually spending time in the Word and you're fellowshipping with believers and living in such amazing unity and investing in the people that are around you, just from your example, God will bring more. Not saying that you shouldn't try to invite people into your church but that shouldn't be your only focus. Especially when the church that you have is in shambles already because the people in it have no unity. If the unity of believers is so good and so pleasant, I have seen how intensely negative the opposite can be when there is no unity.
Application:
This weekend, I will purpose to get to know my country team better to form even better unity than we already have and see if maybe we can sit together for a meal.
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