[The Lord, the God of Israel, says] “They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul (Jeremiah 32:38-41).

I [Jesus] pray also for those who will 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. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in 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 (John 17:20-23).

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of polarization—polarization in virtually everything:  Public policy. National defense.  Theology. The state of natural environment.   And the list is growing—in large part because of polarizing talk shows on both radio and TV and because of media sound bites that capitalize on differences, not agreement.  Conflict sells.  Harmony doesn’t.

Sadly, the Body of Christ is not immune to sharp division—in spite of the fact that God the Son prayed that His followers would be one and God the Father wants to give His people “singleness of heart” as Jeremiah proclaimed.  Note, however, that Jehovah’s aim for His people is not merely singleness of heart, but also singleness of action.  That’s the really hard part.  We can feel that we are unified in heart, but if we are not unified in action, that feeling may be unjustified.

In his inspiring devotional booklet Resist the Powers based on the writing of Jacques Ellul, Charles Ringma reflects:

Harmony is seldom a windfall.  Instead, it is a reality that needs to be won in the face of great odds.  Ellul rightly points out that “harmony is to be found when certain events come together, but above all it is to be made, created, invented, and produced.”  Because harmony has nothing to do with uniformity, it will always remain a fragile commodity that needs to be continually recreated.  Essential to harmony is the all embracing concept of wholeness.

The importance of wholeness struck me a couple nights ago when Marge and I attended a right-to-life banquet arranged by the organization our son Eric works for: Life International. The enthusiasm demonstrated there for the sanctity of human life was electrifying—and unquestionably appropriate.  One result of that event in my own heart and mind, however, was to look upon my present calling as an advocate for the celebration and care of creation as far less significant.  We know from Scripture that human life is seen by God as more valuable than any other life.  It was the value of human life that brought the Creator to humble Himself and become a man—a Man who would die that we might attain everlasting life.  After the banquet, if someone had asked me what work I do, I might have felt a bit uncomfortable to tell them.  How can compassion for soil, trees, birds, rivers, atmosphere, and oceans hold a candle to compassion for human life?  For a time I saw myself standing at an opposing pole.

It took me a while to come back to reality and recall that care for human life and care for the creation upon which human life depends are not bipolar.  They belong together.  My son and I are working for the same Creator and the same cause: the health of all life created by Him.  It is folly to care only for the unborn child.  It is folly to care only for the state of the natural environment.  The Creator requires us to care for both.  How I wish and pray that the Body of Christ would come together in harmony on these vital concerns.  Consider Charles Ringma’s conclusion:

In achieving harmony, we seek to bring together those elements that seem to be opposed to each other.  Harmony, therefore, not only creates peace.  It also brings about a richness of life, for it draws into our orbit that which we first thought was incompatible.  Harmony will not be achieved by the insecure and those who are easily threatened.  It is created by those who are secure in the knowledge that they can learn from others.

Let us all be secure in our calling as we look forward in harmony toward the time of wholeness spoken of by the apostle Paul: “[God] made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ” (Ephesians 1:9-10. See also Colossians 1:20).

[Awesome baby photo By TinaQuispehuaman]