Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:2, 3

In our prayer and fellowship group this morning at Oregon Dairy, we found ourselves wondering how to break out of our cultural cocoon, good as it may be, to connect with the great body of Christ, now spread from our doorstep here in Lancaster to the ends of the earth, stretching from our Chestnut Hill Mennonite Church to the mountains of Tibet, for example, where a local church is seeing the Gospel of Jesus open with full glory.   That country, that I visited several times, is one amazing place.  One person after an other is following Jesus Christ, though having been raised in Buddhism.   I recall praising God with a vibrant, healthy Christian group there.  A faith-building moment, indeed!

Paul instructs us to “keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”  Come to think of it, what could be more difficult?  Maintaining that unity is one of the most difficult of any virtue to practice. Few even tink about it!

I must remember it is not unity of culture, but unity of the Spirit of the Lord.

The Body of Christ, this morning, is all over the planet, and expanding. People in more and more ethnic groups are embracing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Does that affect me at all?  Only if I allow Jesus to open my eyes to see his Body right now, covering the earth.  It is a new family made up of many groups, more than we can conceive of, stretching around the world.

Lord, I believe this.  Make it as real to me as life itself!!