Day 14 - Cut from the Same Cloth

This is day 14 of our thanksgiving experiment. Unity is a powerful force in our lives. Look around and you will see unity in creation, unity in construction, unity in the church ... yes I said the church. Several weeks ago I received an email from Steve Nordlander, a friend and member here at The Fellowship. Steve wanted to share with me about a dream he had. As I read it, I thought what a great picture of unity. I asked him if I could share it here in The Sacred Journey. His dream went like this, "How to share God's desire for Unity and Surrender: Take one large white cloth sheet and cut it in half, then cut that half in half, and so on and so on. When you have cut the sheet into a multiple of small squares, they are all a part of one and are unified in their material and message. As we know, a white flag, sheet, or other cloth is the universal sign for surrender. The idea of the small square patches of white cloth is to provide a daily and constant reminder to all who carry, or possess it (in their pocket, purse, on the refrigerator) as a humble inspiration of surrender and obedience to God."

In the church we too often focus on our differences, but guys like Steve are thinking, praying and dreaming about unity. The truth is that Jesus thought, dreamt and prayed for our unity. I was S.O.A.P.ing up in John 17 where Jesus prays for his disciples. "... I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one ..." Unity is part of God's design and when we live in unity it is a powerful testimony to God's creative order and purpose for all his creation. Unity is defined as the state of being one, or something whole or complete formed by combining or joining separate things or entities. Taking a white sheet and cutting it up to represent unity seems counter intuitive but yet it demonstrates and illustrates the nature of being "cut from the cloth". We are all different yet we are the same. David reminds us in Psalms 133:1 "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!" The more life I experience, the more I realize that life is too short to let divisions hinder me, unity is key to living, loving and longing for all that God has for our world. I am so thankful that Jesus prayed that prayer and that today so many like Steve are continuing to pray that prayer ... that God might be glorified in the unity of the body of Christ ... his church.