Today is the Confession of Peter which begins the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. One of the darkest stains on the garment of Christianity is the disunity among the followers of Christ. It’s not something new. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth “Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose” (1 Corinthians 1:10). He had to say it because the church there was divided.

What troubles me is the large number of people who oppose any effort at unity among Christians. About 35 years ago I, a fairly new pastor, was delighted to be on a planning committee for a Reformation service. We invited the chancellor of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese to preach. All of us on the planning committee were told off royally by fellow Lutherans for our efforts at unity. I felt terrible for a long time afterwards.

Unity doesn’t mean everybody doing the same thing the same way. It doesn’t mean being subject to a single authority. It means recognizing the unity we already have in Christ, for all of his followers share “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5).

On the night on which he was betrayed Jesus prayed: “on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one.” I hope that might be every Christian’s prayer.

Read Ephesians 4:1-6 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne