ICS Daily Devotions
Unity in Diversity
Ephesians 4:16 (NKJV) From whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
You run your own race but God’s plan is team work. Paul said that the crown of righteousness is prepared not only for him “but also to all who have loved His appearing”. The purpose of everything we are doing on Earth is to bring glory to the Father. By obeying God’s will we are factually aligning ourselves with the original purpose of Creation. If there is harmony in it, everyone takes his designated place and there is peace of God everywhere!
We can grow spiritually not just as individual disciples, but the whole Body of Christ. Our sinful nature with the help of the devil tries to run its own race. You can have good motives. But the flesh subconsciously tries to exclude others through its old selfish desires, and we may cut ourselves from the church as the living organism. You need to wait for God to stir up your calling. Otherwise, in pursuit of becoming a great minister, you may end up as a poor solo Christian.
There is unity in diversity. As the Church, we run the race together, we are a team. The church needs you to be spiritually grown, which means that you will cope well with the members of the same team. You accept the position that God gave you in His task to spread and manifest His glory. We need to be aligned with God and also others to bear much fruit as a church. We cannot just do things our own way and think that it will be automatically blessed. That will create chaos in the whole ministry!
There are certain rules to help us survive in the society. And it is applicable not just to the physical world, but also to the spiritual world. God creates the rules and we submit and obey. God is the head of the salvation plan and it is our privilege to be involved in it, not our right. God blesses the team work.
1 Corinthians 1:10 (NKJV) Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
The church in Corinth, despite of the undeniable spiritual presence, suffered from strives and divisions. It threatened the existence of the whole church. The Apostle Paul had to visit them several times and write several letters to explain the importance of unity. The lesson to be learned is that we are joined together as the living organism of Christ, His Church. The sign of a mature disciple is to run with the vision of the local church that he is committed to and fill the spot that God has designed for him there. This is how God’s glory will be manifested in your life and you will bear fruit.
Let us be teachable and use the opportunities to nourish ourselves with the Word of God, attending Sunday Services, Christian workshops and seminars and let us serve God. God will give us His visions and dreams. While serving, we ought to grow spiritually until we reach heavenly glory. There is no limit how God can use us if we submit to His will as disciples of Christ!
Sermon series: Being a Disciple of Christ
