The Perfect Bond of Unity

The Perfect Bond of Unity  

The Apostle Paul deeply loved and had great concern for other followers of Jesus in the fledgling first-century church. He wrote many letters of encouragement and instruction to those who were young in the faith.

 In Paul’s letter to the house church in Colossae he reminded the members of their life-changing experience in Christ Jesus when he said, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:1-2 NKJV).

He goes on to exhort them to rid themselves of sins and vices unbecoming of Jesus and His character. The next few verses list several “Do not”s and then he transitions to point out some Christ-like virtues that we should strive to attain.

Paul had been informed of issues which were causing division among the members. He had addressed some of those matters earlier in his letter. Now in Colossians Chapter 3, he was speaking about personal relationships among the believers.

Have you seen or experienced disagreements or personality clashes within your church fellowship? I dare say that if the congregation was made up of human beings, your answer is, “Yes.”

Paul then gave some directives to help elevate all the members and to bring the unity desired by God Himself. Paul wrote, “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful” (Colossians 3:12-15 NKJV).

In another version, verse 14 states: “And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity” (Colossians 3:14 NASV).

God’s command for us to love is paramount in His cosmic plan for mankind. When asked for the greatest commandment, Jesus answered, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. ’This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31 NKJV).

Why did Paul say that love is above all other things? It’s because love is the bond of perfection. It is the bond of unity.

Bond is a strong word used to describe one thing being fused to another—thus joined securely. To love one another in this way is to be joined together unconditionally. This agap̵é love is spiritual and selfless, sacrificial and unconditional.

It is through the grace given by the Holy Spirit that a person can have this kind of love and this is why the world (those who are not in Christ) does not understand it.

The word, unity, in Greek, is defined, “perfect, one who reaches a goal. Perfection or perfectness, completeness.”¹

So, can you see how agap̵é love among the members of a church fellowship, and among followers of Jesus in the body of Christ as a whole, can be such a force—a bond—that unifies and perfects?

Let’s ponder this love that is put into our hearts by God and imagine how it really could bring unity in the body of Christ. Would the church represent Christ well? Would the church attract more non-Christians? Would this church accomplish great things in the building up of the body of Christ? I believe we would agree that the answer to each of these questions would be a resounding, “Yes!”

As we grow in Christ-likeness we will grow in His kind of love for others. Please join with me in prayer:

Lord God, I ask that You help me to love like Jesus loves. Even when I don’t see eye to eye with my brothers and sisters, help me to give way to Your Spirit to override my personal feelings and allow agapé love to spring up out of my heart—love that is genuine and unconditional. In this, I am doing my part to nurture the perfect bond of unity in the body of Christ. Thank You, Father, for the power of Your grace working in me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

©Copyright 2017 Connie Wohlford

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1. The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible, 2008, AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN, page 2290.

Dear Listening American Church (those who have ears, let them hear)

Dear Listening American Church
(those who have ears, let them hear) By Lori Roeleveld

Today for my blog post, I am sharing a recent post of a writer friend of mine, Lori Roeleveld. Lori is an award winning blogger/author and one of the cleverest bloggers I’ve ever read.

I believe you will not only enjoy her words but will be challenged as well. 

She opens her post:  

Dear Listening American Church (those who have ears, let them hear),

This week, our country will witness another transition of power at the highest level. The election was brutal on the entire nation but the Christian church took hits from within and without. Many are feeling, at the very least, beat up, battered, or bewildered. Others are resentful and angry. Still others harbor self-righteousness and smug pride. All of us are weary and wondering what the future holds. Now is an opportunity for the church to facilitate healing, restoration of truth, and reconciliation within the body of Christ.
 

Please click the link below to read the rest of Loris insightful commentary:

https://loriroeleveld.com/blog/dear-listening-american-church-what-will-we-inaugurate-in-the-days-to-come/

Lori Roeleveld describes herself as, “Just Another Hobbit, Disturbed by Jesus, Living the Adventure. Like you, I don’t want to remain stuck in the small story of my small mind, my stunted soul, my lesser life. I want to follow Jesus into His great story; my mind transformed, my soul expanded, my life lived to the full. 

 

Your comments are welcome.

©Connie Wohlford 2017

The Best Destination Wedding EVER

The Best Destination Wedding EVER                 

Most of us have attended many weddings and some of us have attended a destination wedding. That is one in which the ceremony is held many miles from the home of the bride. Very often the venue is some exotic or personally meaningful location. 

For any wedding there is preparation, especially for the bride. A major part of her prep is herself. She wants to be and look as beautiful and perfect as she possibly can.

We, who are Christ followers, are preparing for the best destination wedding EVER—and we are the bride!

It might be hard for you men to see yourselves as a bride. Nonetheless this is the reality for the body of Christ—His church.

Many times in Scripture, God’s people are likened to a woman. One of my favorites comes from Ephesians 5:25-27: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of the water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”

These three verses provide valuable information about Jesus’ relationship with His church—the church being the body of Christ as a whole—a collection of all who follow Jesus, both male and female. From this passage we learn:

• Jesus loves the church so much that He gave Himself her.
•  Jesus Himself will set apart and clean up His church. He has taken away the stain of sin and has provided His Word with its continuous cleansing action in our lives.
• Jesus will present the church to Himself a glorious, perfect, unblemished, holy, virgin bride. 

Paul said, “For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2b).

So, Church, just as an engaged woman prepares herself to be presented to her betrothed, we’re preparing ourselves for our Bridegroom, Jesus. We anticipate that glorious day of the consummation of the body of Christ to our Beloved.

In God’s revelation to John, He described the final judgements and the elimination of Satan and all evil. Then God gave John a glimpse of the best destination wedding EVER: 

And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!” Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!”
And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!  Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”  And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.


Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God" (Revelation 19:4-9).

There’s no human way to describe this cosmic event, when the bride of Christ is eternally united with her Bridegroom—her Deliverer—her King.

This destination wedding will be held in a venue that’s out of this world—Heaven! 

 

And the reception! Oh my, the reception will be, by far, the best EVER as well—even beyond our imaginations! This event is called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

Think about the most posh wedding reception or dinner party you’ve ever attended, then multiply that a bazillion times. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb will be even better than that. And we’ll not need to concern ourselves with calories or carbs, chemicals or pollutants. Everything will be beyond perfect.

We will all be the honored guests along with our Husband, King Jesus.

Guilt of past sins will never cross our minds again, cross words will never again be spoken to us nor by us, every tear will have been wiped away and there will be no fear, death, hurt or pain—EVER again.

We certainly have a lot to look forward to. Our own destination wedding is on the horizon and our Bridegroom is longing to draw us into His arms.

 ©Connie Wohlford 2016