Articles
Called To Be One
What an absolutely wonderful afternoon last Sunday as 228 saints gathered from around
southeast Arkansas to praise God and fellowship together. (Okay, by preacher count, probably
closer to 250!) Some would suggest that we couldn’t have put another person in some of the
pews and they would be very correct! I appreciate everyone involved in making the afternoon
special for so many. Our men did a great job in leading in worship and helping to set up and take
down chairs. Our ladies filled the tables with refreshments for our fellowship time enjoyed by
many. We had counters and ushers and folks to clean up when it was all over. You are to be
commended for playing so well the role of host.
Whenever the topic of “unity of the church” is mentioned, thoughts often go to the need
to be unified in our worship assemblies. I won’t argue that it would be good for congregations to
come together more often, but that isn’t the only way of unification. It is also important that we
all be unified in our teaching of God’s Word, as was shared Sunday afternoon from the reading
in Ephesians 4, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of
your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and
through all and in all.” The apostle Paul also encourages to “...make my joy complete by being
of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose” (Phil. 2:2).
But there is another way in which we must be “unified” if we are to shine as lights in this
dark world and that is in our lives from day to day. It is easy to come together as we did Sunday
and be “united” in what we teach and being together as “one”. Sadly, as we resume our Christian
walk on Monday, we tend to go our “separate” ways. The remainder of the letter to the
Ephesians, beginning chapter 4, verses 11 and following, Paul describes the life we are to live. It
is a life “that grows up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ,…” (4:15). It is a
life that “walks no longer just as the Gentiles also walk,…” (4:17). It is a life “...in the likeness
of God, ...created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (4:24). Paul begins chapter 5 with
the challenge, “...be imitators of God,…” (5:1). Can there be a greater challenge in our lives than
to live in the “image” (in which we were created, Genesis 1:27) of our Heavenly Father!? Finish
reading the letter to the church in Ephesus and you will see that Paul adds to the list the way in
which we should live if we are to be imitators of God. God showed this way to live through the
life of Jesus Christ.
For us to truly shine as lights in this world (Phil. 2:15; Mt. 5:16), we will all need to re-
examine our lives (2 Cor. 13:5) to be sure that we are striving to be like Jesus in ALL things! Let
us strive for that unity in the church! ~P. Mowrer
