Maintain the oneness of the Spirit

The picture shows a group of brothers and sisters enjoying a meal together in someone's home.

The Apostle Paul urged Christians in Ephesus to keep putting up with one another in love,

earnestly endeavoring to maintain the oneness of the spirit in the uniting bond of peace.

Ephesians 4, 2 and 3

The oneness or unity that we enjoy is of the spirit.

This means that it is a product of God's active force.

However, as Paul noted, our unity needs to be maintained. By whom?

Really, each Christian must do his or her part to maintain the oneness of the spirit.

To illustrate, suppose someone gave you a new car. Who would be responsible for keeping it in good repair?

The answer is obvious. You cannot blame the gift giver if the car breaks down because you didn't

take care of it. Similarly, although our Christian unity is a God-given gift, each of us is responsible to maintain it.

If we do not have a peaceful relationship with a brother or a sister, we need to ask ourselves,

am I doing my part to maintain the oneness of the spirit by resolving the matter?

Earnestly endeavor to maintain unity.

As Paul noted, we might at times need to work hard to maintain the oneness of the spirit.

That could especially be the case if a brother or a sister has offended us.

Does maintaining unity always require that we approach the person

and talk out the problem? Not necessarily. Ask yourself, will making an issue over this

difference promote unity or cause more contention? Sometimes the wise course is simply to overlook it or to forgive.

The picture collage shows a brother choosing to overlook an offense.

He is yelled at by another brother.

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