Tuned To One Instrument

"one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." - Ephesians 4:6

If you are tuning a row of old pianos, you don't tune the first one and then tune the second to the first and the third to the second, right on down the line. If you test the last piano against the first, they are going to be off. The way to tune them all is to have one measuring standard. You tune every single piano to that one instrument, and then they are all in tune with each other. Each piano would be adjusted by using the same standard.

That is the answer to our unity in a local church. Get every single believer is anchored to Jesus. As we fall in love with Jesus and follow wholeheartedly the same Book - the Bible - truly, we look beside ourselves and say to each other, "You believe what I believe; you have the same priorities I have." The unity is not external pressure. It is not just putting everybody in the same room. It is anchoring every heart to the same core: Jesus, the same Word of God, "one God and Father of us all, one body, one faith."

When Lydia and I were dating, we came from different denominational backgrounds, and we talked about those differences over and over again. I finally looked at her and said, "We are going to come together on some of these differences at some point." She said, "Why do you say that? How can you be sure?" I said, "Because I love Jesus, and I know you love Jesus. I am anchoring my life to the Word of God, and I know you are too. We have the same Holy Spirit. He is going to work those differences out." And today, she says she is glad I could see that she was right. (I'm joking)

In reality, even though our backgrounds matter, as long as we are focusing on the same standard, we will move closer and closer to one another.

Here is what settles it for me. When we get to heaven, there won't be a Baptist village and a Pentecostal village and a Presbyterian village. The angels aren't going to ask what denomination you belonged to. Nobody is going to care about that. The only thing that will matter is what you believed about Jesus. We won't be having Pentecostal worship services at 3pm and Baptist worship services at 5pm. We are not going to be worshiping our differences. We are going to be worshiping Him.

So when you start getting bent out of shape over something small, ask yourself this: "Do I love Jesus more than I love my preference? Is this more about Him or about me getting my way?" If ten other believers tell you it's a small thing, it's probably a small thing. We all have the same Holy Spirit. We have the same Book. We worship the same Jesus. So move together as one Body in Christ, becoming something greater than any one of us could ever be alone. Stay unified by loving Jesus more than any preference you hold. Love Him more than anything else. He is the Anchor. He is our tuning instrument. That is what true unity in the church looks like. Hallelujah!

Reflection Question: Are you tuning yourself to one other? Or to Jesus and His Word?

Dear Heavenly Father, anchor my heart to Jesus and to Your Word. Where I have loved my preferences more than I love You, forgive me. Tune me to You, and bring me into tune with Your church. I look forward to worshipping together in heaven with my brothers and sisters. Help me display that same unity today. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Check out: The Seven Pillars of Christian Unity (Ephesians 4:4-6): https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/gcssrmc/14-seven-pillars-for-christian-unity-eph-4-4-6