God compels us to unity amid difference

Christians are some of the most divided people on the planet. We call each other names and split along political lines, denominational lines, and other fissures we imagine and create. The vast majority would rather fellowship with, go to church with, be friends with, vacation with, break bread with, invest in business with, live in neighborhoods with, and spend time with other Christians who are most "like" themselves. Our segregated habits may satisfy our need for comfort, but division breaks God's heart.

Though we tend to demand uniformity, our heavenly Father commands unity. There is no miracle of unity when everybody in the room is already alike in almost every way possible. Unity is expressed only when things come together that were once separated because of difference—when people from every group, nation, and tongue praise the name of Jesus.

In Mending Sunday, author Skot Welch lays out a pathway for putting on the mind of Christ when it comes to diversity and division. God's unity doesn't mean giving up our unique identities as expressed through ethnicity, race, or other aspects of self and culture. Rather, when we put Jesus at the center of ourselves and our communities, we will experience a grace and power we've before never known. When worldly culture seeks to divide, a church that embraces its differences will be the biggest witness of Christ the world has ever seen.