“There can be no unity, no joy of love, no harmony, no goodness in existence unless there is only one. Unity requires at least two” (George MacDonald).
Our concept of unity is often very superficial. We equate unity with identity or similarity. We envision “unity” as an environment where everyone moves, talks, and even thinks alike. But real unity, that is, unity among ourselves or among Person, Never that dull. They may be able to do anything else, clones cannot enjoy unity. As George MacDonald said, “Unity requires at least two.”
The first thing we need to look at is unity. The power of good that comes from being unified. It is nothing short of amazing to see the ability of ordinary people to stand together. As Homer commented Iliad, “If their strength is united then even the weakest will not go in vain.”
But the other thing we need to look at is The seriousness of the consequences of the split. When Ben Franklin reminded his fellow signers when signing the Declaration of Independence, “We must all be hanged together, or, sure, we must all be hanged separately,” he spoke a more universal truth than he might have imagined. In fact, there are many ways to “hang apart” in the world, and many of them have the tragic consequences of people not understanding “hanging together.”
But unity, whether in families, neighborhoods, or nations at large, is not the immediate product of a moment of enlightenment; It is a goal toward which we slowly, and sometimes painfully, work our way. It is the fruit of honest commitment and long-term investment.
In any relationship where we currently do not have the unity we would like to enjoy, the answer is not simply to try harder (although most of the time we certainly need to do that). We have to change not only the quantity of our efforts but also the quality of our thinking. Our viewpoint should be changed, preferably from higher up, so that we can see how things look “from the balcony.” And before we place all the blame for separation on the other people in the relationship, let’s remember that, as someone said, “It takes two people to have separation.” It’s not just other people’s thinking that needs to be adjusted. Does his too.
“We can find common ground only by rising to higher ground” (Jim Wallis).
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com AreYouaChristian.com
