The Heart's Cry: Psalm 133

Psalm 133

How very good and pleasant it is
    when kindred live together in unity!

I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. John 17:20-21

Unity is of the utmost importance, that much can not be argued. Unity is of the utmost difficulty, that much also cannot be argued. We let ourselves be torn asunder by the most meaningless of things. Don't believe me? I have known churches that have been torn apart over the color of the carpet. I pastor a church that once had a split over whether or not meals should be eaten in the fellowship hall, and it has a kitchen. I have known churches that have split over the most ridiculous things. And that is only looking at local churches.

Looking at the bigger picture over the past 2000 years we have created about 30,000 various denominations within Christianity, that comes to 15 new denominations every year during Christianity's existence. Churches have split because of the communion, baptism, sacraments, prayer, music, membership, preaching style, and the list goes on and on and on. We can't keep the global church together, we can't keep the particular denominations together, we can't keep the local church together. We have failed to live up to the hope that Jesus had for us.

Which means we need some sort of course correction before the road ends. We can still become one, but it will require the church to agree with only the bare bones of Christianity, perhaps if we can get to that we might be able to be one. Unfortunately that road will be a difficult one, even in the case of single solitary hearts, even a heart like mine. I say this because just yesterday I passed a church that had a sign that read something fairly innocuous that set my soul a flame in anger. I almost posted about it on Facebook, I almost told people face to face, I almost want to put my anger in black and white, but what would that solve? In order to become one we must set aside our petty differences by acknowledging that they are petty differences in the first place. Maybe then we can start the process to becoming, what Jesus asked us to be way back when, one.

How can you work to bring the churches back together?