{"id":48522,"date":"2021-09-06T00:10:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-06T04:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=48522"},"modified":"2021-09-14T10:16:57","modified_gmt":"2021-09-14T14:16:57","slug":"spiritual-unity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/spiritual-unity\/","title":{"rendered":"Spiritual Unity: The 5 Biblical Ways to Protect It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What does the Bible say about unity in your church? How can you keep spiritual unity intact?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God desires spiritual unity. The Bible provides direction for churches to protect this cohesion that blesses both God and his people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to learn practical ways to protect spiritual unity in your fellowship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Commit to Protecting Spiritual Unity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

God wants you to learn the skill of unselfish love<\/a> because it makes one of his and his son\u2019s greatest desires\u2014unity among his spiritual family\u2014possible. God desires unity because it\u2019s the glue that holds churches together. <\/strong>Without it, you can\u2019t have genuine fellowship or the possibility of harmony and respect between church members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bible provides five practical methods for performing your duty of protecting spiritual unity.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Method #1: Focus on Commonalities <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If all you focus on is how the people in your church are different<\/em> from you, it\u2019ll be impossible to feel unified with them or help them find each other\u2019s unifying points. You can overcome this in two ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Think about what you have in common. <\/strong>For example, you all share the same faith, you all share the experience of the same church, and you all have the same eternity to look forward to. <\/li>
  2. Reflect on the <\/strong>value<\/em><\/strong> of your differences. <\/strong>God didn\u2019t want all the members of his church to be the same\u2014he purposely gave everyone different looks, personalities, skills, and experiences, and he wants you to love them all. Think of differences less as points of division and more as points of celebration by listening to the experiences of others, getting to know them, and enjoying the new perspectives they give you. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Method #2: Don\u2019t Expect Perfection<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Your church is your family and has flaws, just like any other family. But, as with any other family, you don\u2019t abandon them because of their flaws or mistakes\u2014you work through your issues and find a way to improve together.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you abandon your imperfect church family in search of a church with no flaws, you\u2019ll never find it. <\/em>There is no such thing as a perfect church, only churches trying their best to make their reality as close to the ideal as possible. <\/strong>Searching for perfection will leave you hopping from church to church as a spectator, but never a member. <\/p>\n\n\n\n