Since Easter Sunday, I’ve been reading through the book of Acts. I guess I
like to see how the disciples lived in the light of the risen Lamb, and
consider how I might do the same. This time through, I got stuck in Acts 15. A
council is held in Jerusalem because Gentiles are receiving the Holy Spirit and
becoming part of the Church. Some Christians, particularly former Pharisees,
want the new Gentile converts to follow the law of Moses, including
circumcision. Others don’t want to burden the Gentile
Christians with a law that has already been fulfilled by Christ. In the end, they
decide to encourage Gentile Christians to abstain from meat sacrificed to
idols, sexual immorality, blood, and meat from strangled animals.
What I take from this passage is
the beautiful tension between unity and diversity. Both are necessary for the Church
to grow.
You don’t have to look far to see the importance of unity to
the young Church. Passages like Philippians 2:1-13 and Ephesians 4:1-16 are two
of many that talk about unity. In both, Christ is our example of serving one
another, and the Triune God is our example of unity. When we serve each other,
when we share the same bread and cup of communion, when we sing or say “Amen” together, we are
demonstrating Jesus’ prayer in John 16. We are
one with Christ and so we are one with each other.
And yet, diversity holds great
importance, as well. When we look at Acts 15, we see polar opposites:
Christians coming from a zealous legalism clashing with Christians who have no
prior belief in the God of Israel. This diversity leads to greater
understanding, greater accommodation for one another and for the world around
them.
Church isn’t a country club where we are surrounded by our social
peers. Church isn’t a local political party
chapter where everyone shares the same ideals on government. Church is a messy,
diverse, motley group, where faith is stretched, and one must delve deep to
find unity. And the unity we find is Jesus.
He’s
enough to hold us all together.
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