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Key Bible Verse: Do your part to live in peace with everyone (Romans 12:18). Bonus Reading: Rom. 12:9–17

The unity of the church is more profound than a shared confession of Christ as Lord and Savior. There's a special unity the Holy Spirit creates among those who meet together in Jesus' name. It's a bond more enduring and precious than family ties. It's a unity that transcends denominational diversity.

Our world is divisive: nation against nation, labor against management, culture against culture. But societies are somehow aware that the church's nature makes it a nurturer of bonds of unity among diverse peoples.

A few years ago a church community in Tanzania of about 30,000 members was experiencing a break along tribal lines. All African nations struggle to maintain harmony among their widely diverse languages and societies. In most nations the church is the most authentic intertribal community. If the church divides along tribal lines, the nation can't survive.

It's not surprising, therefore, that the Muslim president of Tanzania met with the leaders of this divided church. "Be the church," he counseled. "Preserve the unity of the church. Practice what your Bible teaches!"

—David Shenk in Surprises of the Christian Way

My Response: How do Christians splintering over non-essential issues cast doubt on the gospel's validity?

Thought to Apply: It is only as we join together with others who look different than we do but share a common love and commitment to Jesus that we can know the completeness of the body of Christ. —Bob Snyder

Adapted from Surprises of the Christian Way (Herald Press, 2000) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Lord, turn my critical eyes inward so I may grow in grace. Transform my snap judgments of other Christians into prayer, understanding, and service.

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