I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:1–6)
Today, in the world we live in, there seems to be much eagerness going around. Eagerness to see lockdown ended, eagerness for the vaccine to be rolled out, eagerness for COVID to end. In this desire and this eagerness, there is much being said, or yelled, and various opinions from different corners. And it is a grievous thing to see how we, as followers of Jesus, have been quick to speak and slow to listen regarding the above issues. Yet all believers would say ‘Amen’ to the following verses:
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace, you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:1–10)
Read those words again, if they have not seeped into your heart. Better yet, pray through them, let these words be a reminder of His grace, and of who we are in Christ. As followers of Jesus, we may have varying views but this foundation of grace should help us have better conversations about it.
What if what mattered to God the most was not our personal opinions on the various issues of the COVID-19 crisis, but our witness to a broken world and how we speak to one another?
Yet in this season, we as followers of Jesus, are in danger of becoming divided over politics and the way our government(s) are handling the COVID crisis: wearing masks, no masks, vaccines or no vaccine. What if what mattered to God the most was not our personal opinions on the various issues of the COVID-19 crisis, but instead our witness to a broken world and how we speak to one another as followers of Jesus?
Our calling as Jesus’ disciples is to be a witness through our unity in him, to a world that seems to be even more divided than ever before. Yet we who should display great unity are being carried along with our culture, rather than being counter-cultural.
If we belong to Jesus, we have a higher expectation and calling—not to agree about everything, but to show in our words and lives that our disagreements are trivial compared to that which unites us with our brothers and sisters. Do we consider this as we discuss various topics and current affairs? Do our interactions with each other reflect this truth? Do our non-believing friends see and sense this in our interactions? Can they tell the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian in this regard?
Perhaps the reason why we get so passionate about our opinions is that we are proud. We struggle with humility because we all want to be right. And when we are convinced we are right, anything that opposes that view feels like an attack on who we are as a person.
Paul says we must follow our Saviour and walk in “humility and gentleness.” It is countercultural. Maybe we think of it as weak. But it’s not. A Jesus-centred humility should push us, as followers of Jesus, to engage with fellow believers who may have differing views in a posture of meekness and a strong desire to do what is right and just. Have a look at the words following this call to humility with gentleness. Humility ought to, in turn, drive us to be patient with one another—bearing one another in love and far more eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace.
Humility ought to, in turn, drive us to be patient with one another.
How are we showing to those listening/watching that we have been called to follow Jesus first? How are we demonstrating humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with each other in love in the midst of these heated discussions? How are we relying on the power of the Holy Spirit to preserve the unity that the gospel has already given us?
This is the humility that our Saviour shows us every day. While we bicker, he is gentle with us, patient with us; he bears with us in love. While we speak harshly to each other, he is concerned about the unity of his body—the church, for which he prayed (and died):
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” (John 17:20-23).
When we are displaying true unity, we bear witness to the reality of our triune God and the glory of Jesus. Perhaps we would do better if we focus on this, rather than on the need to win arguments.
Let’s make Jesus’ prayer our own.
