Third, we need to share righteousness by faith. This is where connecting with one another comes in. As we connect more and more deeply and more and more consistently with God, we will be inspired to connect more and more deeply and more and more consistently with one another. Paul wrote that he wished believers were "knit together in love" (Colossians 2:2). In John 17, Jesus prayed that believers would be "one." Now, it's not enough to just come together in unity.
We know that the last-day powers under the enemy's control will be promoting unity under force of law. But we must not let the enemy's false unity distract us from what Christ desperately prayed for among believers: unity in Him. Let's strive for answering Christ's prayer for unity among believers!
How can we be "one" in Christ if we don't seek to connect with each other? How do we connect with each other?
By really listening to one another, demonstrating Christ's delight in one another, and looking for the good God has placed in one another. It's not solving each other's problems but just being with one another as we patiently and prayerfully wait for God to show us what to say and what to do. It is committing to one another that nothing they say or do will make us leave them to fight their battles alone. By letting them know that no matter where they've been or what they've done, we will allow Christ to live His desperate, never-ending love for them through us.
God designed church to be a place of worship, but He also designed it to be a place for genuine community. A place of genuine community is a place where we know each other, trust each other, support each other, listen to each other, and accept each other with the astonishing, unconditional acceptance that Christ has lavished upon us. Christ commanded us to love one another as He has loved us.
--Steven Winn
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