Genesis 11 tells us the story of a people who rallied behind their king (Nimrod) to achieve a titanic task: building themselves a city and a tower which was destined to reach the heavens. This mission had a double-purpose: make themselves a name and avoiding dispersion over the face of the earth (vs. 4). The Bible tells us that God ‘came down’ to see what they were up to, and after seeing it, He acknowledged that: “they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them” (vs. 6). However, as the project was hubristic, God could not let them continue. In the meantime, NOTHING, not even Him, could stop them as long as they were united, ONE. So, He decided to confuse their language and scatter them over the face of the earth (precisely what they wanted to avoid at the beginning of their initiative). Unable to understand each other any longer and no longer together, they had no option but to stop building the city.
There is a formidable power behind unity. It is not for nothing that the motto of several countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Bolivia, Angola, Haiti, and Malaysia) is “Unity is strength” and that many other countries have the word Unity or Union in their respective mottos as well.
This is why God wanted the husband and the wife to be ONE, one flesh, when He instituted marriage. Paul goes even further and adds that it is a mystery: “…the two shall become one flesh." This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” Eph 5:31-32
It is for this reason that Jesus, the Bridegroom of the Church, prayed: “Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one… I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” (Jn. 17:11, 20-23) Notice the number of times that He asks for the unity of the Church. He is about to depart and return to His Father and He knows that the only way that the work that He had started –the Gospel- will stand and spread is through the unity of the disciples. So, He asks them to love one another as He loved them for it was only love which was able to cement that unity. This is one of the most powerful prayers of the New Testament.
United couples form united families and kids who will try to reproduce the holy and healthy model that they have seen and known. United families —> united teams, churches and societies —> strong nations, which does not please the devil at all. When he wants to destroy an individual, a family, a team, a project or a nation, he brings in division. Jesus thus warned the disciples that a kingdom divided against itself was laid waste and a divided household would fall (Mat 12:25, Lk 11:17). Yet, all this starts at an individual level with doubt and indecision which are actually nothing else than a divided mind. This is why James warned us saying: “the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (Ja. 1.6-7) Those who doubt cut themselves off from the LORD’s favour and put themselves at the devil’s pleasure. So, Jesus said: “Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mk 11:23-24). In other words, “when you ask something in prayer, let your lips, mind and heart be ONE. They must all be on the same wave length and say the same thing.”
There is a power behind unity. Be ONE with yourself and be ONE with your spouse. May your family and church be ONE: this unity will be the strength of the projects that you will undertake together. Also remember that unity does not grow with wishful thinking; it is nurtured and consolidated in/by love.
God bless you as He helps you not to be double-minded and unstable in your ways. Have a great week!
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