God still speaks of unity for all.
A. because following God is its own reward (Read verse 4)
The reward of God is seen in how Christians walk in peace and security. They are settled and seek to remain in that peace. They do not carry around anxiety because they can turn that over to God.
Being exiled like the remnant of Judah, being different because of your faith, being committed to God should never bring fear or discontentment. Unity deflects this. We are united under God. We are united through Christ. We are united in the power of the Holy Spirit.
B. because following God is a choice (Read verse 5)
The Hebrew wording for walk in the name of the Lord carries a sense of wearing faith as a badge of honor. We are blessed to be able to carry such a badge. It is not a badge for boasting. It is a badge of choice.
The Jews were exiled into nations that worshiped many gods. Their unique worship of the one true God was a choice of unity with other exiles and with God.
Joshua, the leader of the Jews after Moses, made this single choice to follow God.
"If you decide that it's a bad thing to worship GOD, then choose a god you'd rather serve—and do it today. Choose one of the gods your ancestors worshiped from the country beyond The River, or one of the gods of the Amorites, on whose land you're now living. As for me and my family, we'll worship GOD." Joshua 24:15 (MSG)
This was Joshua's last address to the people of Israel before he died. He was basically saying that you can follow other gods if following the one true God is undesirable. But remember, those who followed these false gods, including some of our ancestors, are not around anymore. In fact, we are living on their lands because their fake gods could not keep them safe and secure. The real God gave this land to us and I choose Him. But you go ahead and choose.
Our choice must be made. Unity helps us to draw the strength we need to follow God with the same confidence seen in Joshua. Disunity leads us to follow a lot of false teachings that discourage us and instill fear instead of peace.
Choosing to follow God and living in peace emerges from gathering together as the body of Christ and supporting and encouraging one another. God speaks through your life so He can show how genuine His love and grace are to those He seeks to reach. God’s influence in our lives unites us in one accord so His Spirit can act and move freely within the church body.
Together, we learn to mourn with those who mourn, rejoice with those who rejoice, feed those who are hungry, love those who are unloved, and mentor those who are growing. In fact, our church has a new ministry emerging for our girls that will ask for Prayer Mothers who will take the time to pray with and for our young girls as they grow and learn about their faith.
Being united in Christ opens the door to ministry in and outside the church body. Where is God showing you to use your gifts of ministry? Are there issues of unity that keep you from ministering in your church and to your community? How can you change that? How can you be an example of an united body?
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