A Story of a Greenville Family

by Bob Smith

Have you ever known a family where the parents loved the children, provided for them, taught them well, did what seemed like all the right things. . .and the children, when they grew up, became estranged, fell out somehow, at least went their separate ways. Did you see those parents grieve over that?

I know a family like that--here in Greenville. It's a well-known family--lots of kids and grandkids--all living right around here. The kids get along well with the parents, and some are close to others, but most of them aren't. They seem to have lots of disagreements--about things their parents and other people consider insignificant, childish, even silly--nothing they'd ever leave a brother or sister over. They could've been a very influential family, because the father's rich, and they own a lot of property around here. They have things most families don't have--and a great family heritage. They've been in the Upstate a long, long time. But their influence isn't nearly what it should be. To most outsiders, they're the family that doesn't get along--not one they want to belong to.

I know the head of this family, and I've heard him pray that his children will come back together, be close again, and work together to build the family he's always dreamed of--to reach its potential--to be something important in the Upstate.

Do you know the family I'm talking about? I'll bet you do. Here's how I've heard him pray: "I pray also for those who believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. . . May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."*

Jesus's prayer comes to us. It's ours to answer or not. We have free will. Christian Unity is up to us! As the Brits say, "It's down to us." The buck stops here. Of course we need the Holy Spirit's power for something so difficult, but we must will to do it. If that weren't true, the Apostles wouldn't have urged it on us so strongly**. We must commit ourselves to the unity of the Body of Christ. To answering Jesus's prayer.

Well how on earth will we do that? Just by willing and praying? No, not by those alone. That hasn't worked for 400 years. But Paul gives us a better way. In Ephesians 4. Let's start in verse 11. I'll bet you know this by heart.

He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

We usually stop there. And we quote this a lot. We like it because it blesses diversity in the body, and it teaches that church leaders are to be equipping other Christians, instead of doing all the work themselves. But do you know the rest of the sentence by heart? Verse 13 continues and completes the sentence:

(. . .equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;) until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

That's how the Lord sees his body--a huge, strong, mature man--as big as the stature of Christ--as big as the one who has dominated human history. He wants us to be like that in Greenville--the most influential thing around--not in political or economic power, of course, but in the hearts of people. And how will that happen? By knowing Him and being one--not "ecumenicalized" but united, really one, as united as the Father and the Son are one.

Paul gives us the chain of causation here: Spiritual gifts → equipped saints → work of service → strong body → unity of faith and knowledge of Jesus → maturity → huge stature. That stature will come from our unity, Paul says, and our unity will come from our working together.

You've seen this a lot. In a congregation that's doing the Lord's work--especially reaching the lost--people aren't squabbling about theology, or the budget, or the music, or the decoration of the sanctuary. They're one in Jesus.

Imagine what the Lord could do through us if we were all together. Take a minute to imagine a united church in Greenville . . . Now imagine that the Lord doesn't want that. Imagine that He likes it as it is, that he's happy with the way we are . . . You can't, can you? It simply isn't His will.***

The mission of GreenvilleConnect is to help the Body of Christ here to take Paul's recommendation--to help our Churches, Ministries, and Christian business and government leaders work together more and better--"until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God," so His Body in Greenville will become like a mature man--a strong, attractive, towering man, whose stature is like that of Christ Jesus himself.

Let's pray for the Lord's blessing and aid in that.

Holy Father, we repent again of our division of your Body, and we commit again to work for its Unity. We know we can't think or discuss or reason ourselves into it because our minds are small, and our wills, our egos, and our pride are large. So we submit to your call to serve you together. To reach the lost around us and minister to the needy in Jesus's name together. We need your strong help in this. Would you direct us, change hearts, and give us success--that we might answer Jesus's prayer in our community? We ask this in His name. Amen.

  * John 17: 20b, 21, 23

 ** For example, re-read the first four chapters of 1 Corinthians with the view that they're all about unity in the Body of Christ. There's much more there, of course, but by focusing in this way, I think you'll see how the other things are there to support Paul's call to unity.

*** Some argue that denominational division is in His will by praising the "diversity" in today's Body of Christ. "We have groups to fit everyone's beliefs, style, and preferences." But that doesn't make it. You can't justify division by celebrating diversity. Division is the intolerance of diversity, not the love or even acceptance of it.

• < Prev