Brian Kamstra, Senior Pastor, Spirit of God Fellowship
Is unity an impossible dream?
Look around and you’ll find people who are different from each other: different political beliefs, different ethnicities, different cultures, different socio-economic standings, different religious beliefs, different priorities, different mindsets. And isn’t that great? Embracing diversity, rather than resisting it, makes us stronger and helps us grow.
However, as a community, as a country, as Christians—we need to find common ground. We need to look beyond our differences and see how powerful it is to be in unity. While some people may say that unity is an impossible dream, I disagree. When we stand together as a diverse but unified group of people, we stand strong and we stand beautifully, just like the Bible says: “How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!” (Psalm 133:1, NLT).
Unfortunately, too often, brothers and sisters stand on opposite sides of an issue, and we feel that difference takes away any common ground we may share. But In order to achieve the beauty of unity that is blessed by God, we need to accept one another. We need to forgive one another. We need to love one another. We need to listen to and learn from one another.
Unity begins with understanding perspective. Many people’s beliefs are based on personal experience. If we’re serious about moving toward unity, let’s try to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes before we judge them. Instead of deciding someone’s experience isn’t real because it isn’t real to us, let’s open up our minds to the possibility that our different experiences could both be true experiences, and that all people deserve to be treated with dignity, respect, and empathy.
It’s okay to disagree with each other, and it’s actually an incredible experience to have a respectful conversation with someone who stands on the opposite end of an issue from us. Those differences don’t have to stop us from achieving unity, even during this time of political change. Instead, that unity will help us keep having conversations and keep seeing different perspectives that will help us continue to grow and learn.
Unity isn’t about being the same—it’s about standing together regardless of our differences. Let’s fiercely protect that unity we find—in our churches, our schools, our communities, and, yes, our country. Unity is worth fighting for, now more than ever.
