Read: Ephesians 4:1-16
One Lord, one faith, one baptism . . . (v. 5)
Although the worldwide church has limped with disunity almost from its beginning, lately it feels as if our limp in keeping the “unity of the Spirit” (v. 3) has gotten worse. Yet when God’s people share their testimonies, it builds us up as one body like few other things can and focuses us on what matters most—sharing the gospel in love.
Early in our ministry, my husband and I visited a dear friend who was a dairy farmer and part of a faith community significantly more conservative than my own. We were warmly hosted by our friend’s parents, two of the kindest, most faithful people you could ever meet. During our stay, the father called me to sit with him, opened his Bible, and gently shared Bible verses to show that my leadership role in ministry was biblically prohibited. I thanked him, briefly did the same (gently shared Bible verses supporting my pastoral leadership), then asked if I could share my testimony with him.
As I finished, I said, “Jesus is everything to me, so I can’t deny his call on my life to this ministry role—I have to obey this call to share his love.” In that moment, the Lord’s presence and our unity in the Spirit was absolutely palpable. “Okay,” he said, “we disagree [on the issue], but we focus on Jesus. He is the most important thing.” After that, this couple generously supported and prayed for our ministry for years.
As you pray, join Jesus’s heart prayer for his beloved community, “that they may all be one” (John 17:21).
Linda R. Rubingh is a parent, pastor, therapist, and writer with a passion for sharing the gospel with youth nationally and internationally. She is the co-founder with her husband, Trevor, of New City Kids, and more recently New City Networks, and is completing her first children’s book, I Love to Tell the Story: Stories of Meeting Jesus from Every Nation, Tribe and Tongue. Linda is a New Jersey native but now lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
