“You have to call for unity. As a pastor, you can’t be adding to the us versus them mentality. You just can’t.” I get it. But also, no.
I do believe, as the church - the body of Christ reflecting God’s love for humanity into the world - we are to come together. We are louder together. We can make more change together. We can do good together. Together was the goal and is the ideal. But unity was never Jesus’ thesis statement. It’s the best how for carrying out his call, but it’s not what he focused on.
If Jesus faced the choice between dehumanizing people or standing up for them, he’s not choosing unity with cruelty. If Jesus had the choice between upholding selfish ambition or sharing the wealth to cover the poor, he’s not choosing unity with the rich. If Jesus had the choice between keeping a powerful ruler happy or demonstrating humble leadership, he’s not choosing unity with the king for fear of backlash.
When he prayed for our unity in John 17, he didn’t ask God to make us one for the purpose of an easy life, like a mother expecting all of her kids to want the same sandwich at lunch. He prayed for our unity to be in them (the way God and Jesus are one) for a reason:
…in order that the world may know that you sent me
and that you love them as you love me.
Unity for unity sake is not the goal. Being unified in the love of God for all people is.
What that tells me, as someone whose goal is to show the world that God loves them the same way he loves Jesus, is that I must not choose unity with anything that goes against that love.
I can lean in with curiosity. I can make the difficult choice to not withhold grace. I can unpack beliefs that were taught and behaviors that were modeled. I can compassionately understand that when you’ve been fed one narrative, translation or criteria for your entire life, it forms who you are and how you see the world. And also.
I want to be clearly divided on some things.
And that’s not a sin.
In Matthew 25, Jesus appears to be telling a story about a shepherd, but if you read the surrounding verses, you see that he’s really foreshadowing the story of him as the coming king. The sheep and the goats in the story are not really just sheep and goats (they never are) but the people he’s telling the story to. So when the king looks at all the “sheep” and says he will separate them into groups, it’s almost like he’s saying to the religious people around him, “Listen in. Eyes on me. You think you’re all here together, living the same lives, taking in the same things, growing in the same place, being molded by the same shepherd. So it’s easy to assume you’re all the same, but you’re not. Some of you think you’re one thing but you’re really something different and I’m gonna make it clear by removing you from the group.”
The criteria for which group they’re put in?
How they treated the people around them.
The righteous goats who went to church and believed the right things and said the right things and looked the part but never fed the hungry or welcomed the stranger or cared for the sick or visited the detained or provided water for the thirsty were divided from those who did. Not because they didn’t see what was happening, but because they “refused to help.” (25:45)* And their excuse for not doing anything “But Lord, we didn’t know it was you.”
See, the thing about being unified with other believers through the power of God’s spirit is that we have to recognize the power of God’s spirit when we see it. And it exists within every single person on this planet. The deported migrants. The starving Palestinians. The women who aren’t allowed to make their own medical decisions (look up Adriana Smith). The foster children losing health care. The educators facing even less agency in their classrooms. The people of color being dehumanized in a rise of racist behavior.
We must refuse to be unified with anything that does not show humanity God’s love for them. No matter how any religious institution, powerful leader or belief system twists and justifies it. The stereotype of hypocritical Christians exists because of people who profess a deep love that they keep back from others.
So yeah, miss me with unity for unitys sake. I won’t be the person turning a blind eye saying “But Jesus, I didn’t see you there.” I won’t be the person who doesn’t get political saying “But Jesus, I didn’t know you cared about these things.” I won’t be the person who lives unaffected saying “But Jesus, I didn’t know it affected you.”
And if you call yourself a Christian, I don’t think you should be either.
They’ll know we are Christians by our love.
*I preached a whole sermon on this passage that hit home for a lot of people and you can watch it here. I’d also love for you to share it if you find it a timely message for the world.
If all of this leaves you feeling overwhelmed or fearful for tomorrow, Tomorrow Needs You is the message that you need. Naeem Fazal’s book comes out next week and you guys, I’ve been reading these words for the past year. I had the privilege of helping with this project every step of the way and I’m telling you, no matter how many times I’ve read it, the hope in these pages doesn’t get old. Listen to my interview with Naeem on Episode 114 of the Becoming Church podcast but truly, like I said in my endorsement, this just might be the book that finally helps you grasp how deeply God cares about every detail of your life, especially the ones where it's hard to see him.
