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This is really interesting to me... "May they all be one...so the world may believe..." Wow, the world will believe in Jesus- that He truly is the Son of God and Savior of the world when we are in unity. That's heavy. Proof tot he world that Jesus is who He says He is relies on our behavior- our obedience. If we could be in unity, it would basically point the way to salvation. No wonder the enemy takes such delight in the factions and dissension and offenses amongst believers. Not only does it make our hearts all funky, it actually keeps the lost from finding God. We actually shield people from salvation. Ouch.
God's desire is for us to be completely one. In the same way He and Jesus are one. So why do we make excuses like "they just rub me the wrong way" and "you don't have to be friends with everybody" and "you don't understand how hurt I've been." Sounds to me like we have no excuse. We are meant to be one. One body. This goes beyond the many different buildings we all meet in (I heard it said just the other day that the question "What church do you attend?" is ridiculous because how can you GO TO what you ARE? It is a shame that so many are divided over the minors. But even deeper than that, look inside each of these buildings at the jacked up relationships, hearts filled with unforgiveness, strife, rebellion, jealousies, derision, gossip, etc. Wow, what a beautiful bride! God, forgive us. It seems like an impossible task but help us die to ourselves that we might truly be ONE with other believers and point the way to You. Forgive us, your bride, for allowing the church to become the roadblock instead of the direct path to You.