"I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." (John 17:23)
What relationships do you have with other believers that prove to the world that Jesus is real? This is a tragedy of Casual American Christianity, we isolate ourselves and believe that our faith is our own individual journey. We think that it is a personal relationship with Christ and somehow it can exist on its own without having any other people involved besides maybe the pastor on stage who teaches the word. This is the train of thought; if I come to church and learn about God then that is my faith journey. It is a very American, independent, isolated way of thinking... Let me ask you these questions. When you come to church don't you prefer to sit by yourself or maybe a couple people you know? Don't you desire to be un-bothered by the other people and wouldn't it be nice if you had a bat cave exit sometimes so you could slip out with out getting caught in a bunch of conversations? That is how I feel sometimes. I enjoy being by myself and worshiping by myself.
This is not what Jesus had in mind when he was praying to the Father. He wants us to interact with one another. He wants us to do it in such a way that people would look at us and think we really are Christ followers. Unity so that the world can see. What relationships are you trying to make that happen in? Complete unity. That should be our aim as Christians to be unified so we can show the world what Jesus is really like. We need to be a community that actually cares about each other. A community that extends beyond service times.
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