I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters. Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.” Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!
(1 Corinthians 1:10-13 NIV)

Our nation and world are diverse, full of different backgrounds, ethnicities, expressions of faith, and political views. And those differences tend to cause division. Our church is to be a shining counter-example of this. The same diversity of backgrounds, ethnicities, faith expressions, and political views, but unified in thought and purpose. We have been called to be a shining light on a hill, a beautiful example of unity for the world to see. We need to model that our differentness does not need to mean divisiveness.

As Paul expressed to the Corinthian church, it is futile as believers to align ourselves merely with individual human leaders who each represent a faction of diverse backgrounds, beliefs, etc.; this leads to separation within the walls of our church body. Instead, he calls us to set our minds on Jesus Christ, the one unquestioned leader of the church. We learn and emulate humility, peace, mercy, grace, hope, respect, and most importantly, LOVE in Him.

Diversity is a beautiful God-given gift to the world, but it only fulfills its purpose if we can follow Christ and his example of unity in Love toward each other. Let’s model this for our city and our nation during this upcoming political season.

Prayer for the Week

 Dear Jesus, thank you for being our clear, unrivaled leader. We are grateful for those men and women who aspire to lead our nation, but most importantly, we want to keep our allegiance and focus on your leadership. Help us show the world what it means to be unified in love for each other and to follow your humble example. In your name, we pray. Amen.