Memorial Stones: Unity

God is faithful. We are unfaithful. God gives us second chances. We need to obey God's Word. God is gracious (even in our mistakes). We should demonstrate unity.

The sixth set of stones in Joshua was political in nature. The conquest was over. Land had been given on the other side of the Jordan River to a few of the tribes before Israel had entered the Promised Land. It was time for them to return home. As soon as they got over the river, they built an altar of stones. This got the rest of the tribes upset and they came ready to battle. They thought that the altar was a sign that these tribes were already departing from the one true God. The tribes from the other side of the river explained that they had set up those stones as a reminder in generations to come that they are just as much a part of Israel as the other tribes were. They didn't want future generations thinking that they didn't belong to Israel. They wanted a reminder that they were one people, one nation.

I feel like I need to be careful with this set of stones, because this was a political monument, not necessarily a theological one. But I do feel like there can be some (loose) connections.

Within the local church, we need to be one body. At the church I grew up in, after communion we would always circle the auditorium, hold hands, and sing "Blessed Be the Tie That Binds". As we sang and looked around at one another, we were reminded that there were all part of the family of God We might not always agree, or get along, but we were one body. It was always a time for us forget what differences we have and celebrate that Christ died for all of us and through Him we have redemption.

Have you ever visited a church far from your own home church, maybe even in a different country, and felt that same bond? It's incredible! After my senior year in high school, we went on a mission trip to Mexico City. The youth kids there didn't have a lot in common with us, our language barrier made conversation interesting as we stumbled through our poor Spanish and they stumbled through their poor English, yet there was a bond that only existed because we shared the same Father. We had all been saved by the blood of Christ and that was enough. That is the unity we find in the Gospel.

I want to issue a warning though. Not everyone who claims to be a Christian is one, and not everyone who teaches in the name of Jesus knows who He is. There are many false teachers, false doctrines, and we need to be able to draw distinct lines between truth and lies. We need to stand firm on the Bible, and not compromise for the sake of unity.

Just like the tribes were one nation, we are one body. But when we talk about unity we need to make sure that we are unifying the body and not trying to unify with the world. There is no accord between Christ and Satan.