One Unit
One Unit is a name that I have used for the past five years whenever I have significant conversation with people about what I understand the Body of Messiah is supposed to be like. Similar to a military unit, the Body of Messiah is made up of different people, each with different abilities and training, all working together to complete a mission. This is about as simplistic as the description can get.
Edah Echad is a Hebrew transliteration of עדה אחד, meaning “one congregation or assembly.” I use this phrase with this same thing in mind. To date, this is the closest Hebrew I’ve heard that resembles the essence behind One Unit; plus I like it. As you can see, this also is descriptive of the oneness that God desires for His people to experience and exemplify [John 17].
When I came to faith in Messiah Jesus, one of the first things that really rubbed my spirit was the division that I observed within the Christian body. Even in my ignorance I could tell something was wrong. Since then, things haven’t changed much with that particular perspective. Despite my immature zeal, over the course of the past few years God has brought me to a place where I can truly rest in his grace and grow in empathetic compassion and love for others who hold different perspectives than I do about a specific “something” concerning the faith. (The opposite would leave me being the one who is guilty for causing division.) The Apostle Paul commands believers to always do everything they can do be at peace with others. This way of living ought to infect every aspect of our lives, especially with fellow believers.
You may say to yourself, “Poor boy, his naivety is precious and embarrassing at the same time.” Perhaps. However, the little that I do know about who God is, what his Spirit seems to be consistent in portraying over the years and through the word, on top of Jesus’ first earthly ministry – I think based on these, it is enough to provoke me to at least try to imitate that.
As you browse the posts in this blog you will get snippets of the way I observe God working. No doubt, my vision is limited, but I’m going to work with what I got. After all, this is all I can do.
So, One Unit; the Body of Messiah. Let us seek more understanding and grace so we can all show the rest of the world the kind of love that allowed us to love in the first place!
Peace to you in Christ Jesus!
