Unity

1st Chronicles 12

Are you surrounded by good friends? Maybe you are one of those good friends that are always there someone. When you are around a good support team you find yourself encouraged as well as confident. I attribute a lot to how I turned out to not only my family but I had good friends in high school, especially Tim and Dirk. These guys were normal guys who loved the Lord and by how they lived, they were encouraging to me. 

In this chapter we see David being uplifted as he was surrounded by mighty men who loved him and served him.

Six Years is a Long Time

David was anointed king but did not become king until Saul died. It was six years that there was an unrust in Israel as Saul was being king but David was the true king. Six years that David would run from Saul and hide in the wilderness. He would even be part of the Philistine army for a little while. In this chapter we read about how David was supported by so many faithful men. They came from the different tribes of Israel and were there to serve the king.

In verse 38 we see that all of Israel were of a single mind. They had one thing and that was unity for once. We read that Saul killed himself in chapter 10 and David was being honored as king now. We see that the fighting between Israel has stopped and the men are together in unity. 

As Christians we can have this problem of fighting and cause little divisions over the littlest things. I know there are certain things that I will not back down on, like salvation is through Jesus Christ and only him. Jesus was born of a virgin, Jesus died and rose again on the 3rd day. I am not going to compromise on the essentials, but certain things we can argue over and have been argued over for centuries. Peter told the church to have unity in mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind (1st Peter 3:8). Paul told the Corinth church that there should be no division in the body, but that the members have the same care for one another (1st Corinthians 12:25). 

For the Church to shine bright, we need Christ to be illuminated from her. When we cause division we shine our sinful self. May we be like the men who came to be of one mind with their leader and we can have one mind with Christ. Amen!