Wishful Thinking

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     A good brother who is associated with one of the segments in the instrumental wing of the disciple brotherhood writes as follows:

     I still say all this "plea" for "unity" is wishful thinking. As such (outwardly) there will be none before Christ returns. However, there is nothing to keep local congregations from conforming to divine patterns in the New Testament for the church, and for saints, if willing to get that way at all costs in accordance with 2 Corinthians 6:11-18.

     I do not share this brother's pessimistic outlook. A plea for unity of believers is no more wishful thinking than a prayer for unity of the believers by our Lord. We need to match His prayer with our plea, and we need to have confidence in both. Unity must be regarded from two aspects--the actual and the practical. The first is a gift of God and bestowed by the

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Spirit. It is real in spite of the fact that our attitudes keep it from appearing realistic. We are not told to achieve it or attain it but to maintain it. You cannot maintain what you do not have, nor continue always to have what you refuse to maintain.

     Practically, we have not made the unity conferred by God a true working relationship. We are told by the apostle that we must "Exert an effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." We cannot create unity but we can make peace. "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God." We have majored in making pieces of the body instead of making peace within it. We have called people out of the church instead of out of the world. Thus we have created organizations to the detriment of the divine organism.

     If peacemakers are to be blessed it is evident their efforts will not be futile. If we took the stones which we hurl at each other and used them to build bridges toward each other we would see a great transformation in our lives. Of course, bridges must be built from both sides of the river! But the purpose of God must be fulfilled and if the "restoration movement" fails, He is still able to raise up from these stones, a people who will do His will.

     One thing I do know. If we evaluate thinking about unity as wistful we still do very little constructive thinking. If we have thought ourselves into division why can we not think ourselves out? I refuse to regard division as the normal state of the body of Christ any more than I regard sickness as the normal state of my own body. A sick movement, like a sick person, needs doctoring. I have resolved to labor in answering the prayer of my Savior. I refuse to be discouraged. He who works for peace among the saints and unity among the believers has God on his side and as surely as heaven never lost a battle, this one will not be lost. The church has not reached its peak to start into a decline. It is just throwing off its swaddling-clothes. It has never yet attained to its full potential. The greatest era of all lies before us. Tomorrow will be better than today!