Psalm 133:1-2




It’s always inspiring to see unity at work. Whatever the organisation, it is encouraging to see a group of people working effectively and happily together. Whether it’s a football team, school, business, family or church, it is a blessing to see everyone working in harmony.
The thought of anointing oil being poured over a person sounds quite sticky and messy to me, but it’s clearly intended as a picture of generous blessing. As the oil is poured, everyone can smell the beautiful fragrance and share in the joy of unity. David then went on to speak of harmony as being like the refreshing dew from Mount Hermon. Whatever way you look at it, unity is something to be celebrated.
However, unity doesn’t always happen. David experienced agonising times of disunity and brokenness within the nation of Israel and also, more poignantly, in his own family.
I suspect that you can recall many times of unity, but also occasions when disunity has broken out and caused pain and sadness. Sadly, churches often experience disunity, and this is the opposite of what anyone would want. However, disunity should never come as a surprise to us. Sin always divides and so, given that churches are composed of sinful and frail human beings like you and me, disunity will always be a sad possibility.




The beauty of unity should inspire us all and encourage us to do two things. Firstly, we need to receive the unity that God longs to give us. We discover this as we live our lives more closely to him. Secondly, we need to put in the hard work of looking after the precious gift of unity.
The apostle Paul wrote: “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace” (Ephesians 4:3). Day by day, we need to look for ways of promoting unity, through our prayers, love, encouragement and kindness. It’s hard work, but the results are beautiful and inspiring for all to see.




QUESTION
What can you do to promote unity in your church and family?
PRAYER
Loving God, thank you for the gift of unity. Help me to go out of my way to maintain and strengthen unity today. Amen

Released on 4 May 2023