Devotional by Brad Smith

Head Spiritual Director

Writing to the church in Ephesus, a group of discouraged Christians, Paul encourages them to be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the hand of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3). Unity dosen’t just happen. it must be preserved, diligently. Christian unity is perhaps one of the most important aspects of the Christian walk. The Christian life is to be a communal walk, a walk with fellowship. Life is hard, and Jesus promises,  “In the world you will have tribulation,” (John 16:33 ESV). Many things cause tribulation and struggle, but the root culprit is always sin, the moral evil perpetuated by our sin and the natural evil as a function of the deterioration of creation, groaning under the weight of sin. Life is hard and we need each other “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2). Our entire culture is based upon individualism leading to isolation. From the perpetual spirit of rugged individualism and self-reliance. American culture is the opposite of community. We value and cherish solitude, alone time, personal space, privacy etc. The idea of life in community runs contrary to so many deeply ingrained American ideals. Our homes even have become fortresses of solitude behind whose walls we retreat as a refuge from the world. The pervasive transience of our culture further divides. No one puts down roots. Everyone is restless, moving about, looking for something else. According  to the CDC, there is an epidemic of loneliness plaguing our nation, so, not only do we suffer, but we suffer alone.

Notwithstanding the great efforts of the enemy to further divide and isolate. the fiery darts often become fiery darts of division. The sin of offense, the spirit of offense, inflames our sinful passions, driving demonic wedges of division into just the slightest of fissures. The end result is even more suffering in solitude. But these things ought not to be. The Christian is a peacemaker, diligently pursuing Gospel unity that we might bear one another up, standing united while suffering under the weight of sin, anticipating His coming. The Christian ought never to be at peace or rest as long as the slightest divisive thought or situation persists.