One Body (Unity): We Belong to Each Other

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One Body (Unity): We Belong to Each Other Ephesians 3:6 (NIV) This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. July Verse: “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.”- 1 Corinthians 12:12 (NIV) –

This month's theme is based on being part of the Body of Christ and walking together in unity, rather than division. Just as the human anatomy works along with each other, we each have a gift that God gives us to work together to help spread the gospel. If we were to look at 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, we would see that each part of the Body of Christ is important. This calls for us to remove envy and pride and to stick to the gifts that God has given to us.

I remember going to see my service chair after attending a Christian concert the night before (the same night when I did 16 crunches at a Panera for Crunch-a-thon). Instead of being excited by the success of crunch-a-thon, I was grieved when my service chair told me about an incident where she and our fundraising chair were in an altercation over who got to claim crunch-a-thon as “her event”. Rather than focusing on bringing awareness towards Ovarian Cancer, the focus was on who got to claim the event as a committee, bringing a bit of division. Part of me wishes that I could have told them to mark it as both fundraising and service, because collaboration is way more important than competition. Psalms 133 (NIV) states: “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion.For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.” If we were to walk together in Unity, then it would be like bringing anointing and having spiritual refreshment and God’s blessings.

Here are practical ways to walk in unity as leadership in SAO:
1.Assume the best first.
2.Practice Active Listening: Listen to each other’s perspectives on a topic before defending yourself.
3.Engage in Shared Goals: Collaborate on planning activities and events.
4.Chase the foxes: If an offense arises, talk with that person. Clarity is kindness, and our goal is to build each other up. These small talks can help the person grow, rather than let resentment build up and increase division through gossip and complaining.
5.Celebrate each other without comparison.
6.Serve where there is a need.

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