ZA MAGAZINE // seek truth.

In the 2004 film “Miracle,” Disney’s depiction of the 1980 U.S. Men’s ice hockey team and their “Miracle on Ice,” we learn a few things about the concept of team. The boys entered tryouts as college players from various parts of the country, carrying strong dislikes for people from other regions. An interesting part happens when assistant coach Craig Patrick is talking to the team trainer. They talk about head coach Herb Brooks and his tough treatment of the bickering players. Patrick questions why he’d want to have twenty players who hate his guts, to which the trainer replies that “maybe if they hate him, they won’t have time to hate each other.”

As it turned out, the tactic worked. Hockey players from different schools came together and stunned the world, beating the Soviets in what some say was the was the biggest battle of the Cold War.

Isn’t it interesting that it took a common enemy to unite the disunited?

Don’t think that this is just the stuff of movies, either. Can you remember how united the United States - no, the whole world - was united on September 12, 2001? Have you heard the stories about how the US came together when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor? Though this next kind of unity doesn’t look nice, it is certainly true that the German people came together under a Führer who gave them a common enemy - non-Aryans.

Throughout history, unity has been achieved when people forget about themselves and their differences and come together through mutual outlooks. The 1980 US team was unified in their mutual dislike for their coach. The US was unified against terrorism and, before that, the Axis Powers. Nazi Germany was united by love of country and hatred of ethnic and religious minorities.

As preacher Francis Chan notes, “You don’t develop unity by trying to develop unity, you develop unity by having a common goal. And when you have a common goal and that common goal is the obsession of your life, then unity is just going to happen naturally.” Hitler didn’t send his people to a ropes course to learn to be unified, it was something that happened as a result of common goals, friends, and foes. President Bush did not have to appeal for unity after 9/11, people naturally came together as the result of a terrible tragedy.

Christians are supposed to stick together

These examples can all serve as analogies to the Christian faith in certain regards, but in order for that to happen, we must first establish that unity is even necessary in Christianity. There are plenty of verses that could do so, that could point to how certain commands help to unify and about how the early church was unified and about how heaven will have a blissful unity, but all we really need is the following, given by Jesus as He is praying for His followers:

John 17:20-21 (emphasis mine)
20 I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
21 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.

This passage really does blow me away. First of all, the part I emphasized certainly defines the Biblical command for unity. Now we’re not just talking about any plain old unity here. Jesus wants us to be as close to our brothers and sisters as He was to God! For those of you who don’t know, Jesus not only was really close to God, He WAS God, so this is a really tall order. But to me, what is more incredible than the prayer for unity is the reason for it: so that people who aren’t Christian will believe that Jesus is sent from God.

So hopefully you believe me now when I tell you that we are supposed to be unified. The command seems clear and the reasoning is really important. So how do we unify? Numerous examples have shown us that people come together not because they are encouraged to be nice to each other, but when there is something in common, be it a common goal, a common ideal or belief, or a common enemy.

Guess what? Christians have all of these.

A common enemy

Ephesians 6:12
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

1 Peter 5:8
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Perhaps one of the biggest problems with Christians today (myself included) is that we don’t even realize that we’re in a war, or if we do, we don’t consistently live as if we believe that it’s true. If the Nazis could unite against a common enemy that wasn’t even a real threat, then how much more should we unite against an enemy that is so evil and subversive? Tangibility is a big factor. The “War on Terror” consistently suffers from people not seeing terrorism as a real threat and not really knowing the implications of such a war. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the reality of the war hit so hard that the resolution for war passed with only two dissenting votes from both houses combined.

What Christians need to realize is that the devil really is a roaring lion, the kind that does more damage to Christians than al-Qaeda does to a skyscraper. If we can keep that mindset, we’ll find that a lot of the minor stuff that causes disunity really does fall aside.

Though unity through a common enemy is good because it keeps us sharp and ready to fight, I don’t think it’s the complete way to approach this topic because if we only fight because we’re afraid to lose, that’s no way to live.

A common goal in pursuit of a common friend

Hebrews 12:1-2a
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…

This passage (and others) show us that not only do we have a common enemy, but we have a common hero (Jesus) and a common goal (run the race). I like the imagery of these verses. Imagine if every Christian got a phone call that said, “Jesus is on home plate at Yankee Stadium. Go to Him!” We’d all converge on New York city and as we would get closer and closer to that stadium, we’d all be getting physically closer to each other, until we’ve packed the field, the stadium, and the surrounding city blocks. Since this passage is speaking more on spiritual lines, then it would make sense that as we are spiritually running towards Jesus, everyone would be getting closer to each other spiritually. Running the race is merely pursuing a relationship with Jesus, seeking to work out your salvation and grow closer to Him every day. It’s also about getting people to race with you…that’s the evangelism part.

Matthew 28:19-20a
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…

See, a part of our common goal, this race, is to get other people involved in it. But as these people start running with us and start looking to Jesus, then we will all unify as we get closer and closer to being of one mind with Him.

The bottom line?

Unity is a mandate of Christianity. We’re not meant to go it alone, and we have to come together. But unity doesn’t come from trying to be unified, it comes from recognizing the common enemy, the common hero, and the common goal. Then as we fight off the bad guy, and chase the good guy by chasing the goals, we will come together.

Let’s get to it!

Grace and peace,
Brendan

Photo for accompanying image created by stock.xchng user iofoto. Don’t take their work unless they know about it!