"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
"It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
"As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore."
Psalm 133
I have been so blessed by the Daniel Fast! The Lord is teaching me so much, and touching my heart in a very intimate and wonderful way.
As I read this passage of Scripture last week, something really struck me anew. (Don’t you love it when something you’ve read literally hundreds of times before jumps out with a new insight?!)
One of the things I have been specifically praying about, during this time, is unity among God’s children. I’m not talking about a "all roads lead to God let’s be tolerant" kind of unity. But there needs to be unity among His true children, nontheless. In John 17:21 Jesus prays,
"That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent Me."
I fear that the world would believe nothing of the kind due to the lack of unity among His children today.
There are things we cannot compromise. That’s a given.
But how many of our pet doctrines and beliefs, and yes–standards and principles, are more divisive than unifying? Again, I’m not sanctioning "winking at sin" so we can "have unity". I’m referring to true unity of true believers.
What really jumped out at me in this passage is—we anoint Christ with our unity! It is as "the precious ointment"–that ointment was only used to consecrate the priests. It was special, set apart, and as this passage says, precious.
That is how God the Father sees our unity! As something special, set apart and precious!
Not only is it anointing Jesus, it is refreshing, as the dew.
Unity is good. It is pleasant. It is precious. It anoints Jesus. It is refreshing. It commands a blessing from God.
And it shows the world that the Father has sent the Son!
It is my prayer that we can all come together for the most important things–glorifying God in our lives by walking in holiness; loving Him with all our hearts, souls, and minds; lifting up Jesus so that He may draw all men unto Him; and praying for others, using Scripture to pray God’s will–not our ideas of what others should or shouldn’t be doing.
Remember the three things God told us in Micah that were required of us:
"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" Micah 6:8
Do justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly with your God.
Those three things will go a long way toward building unity.
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is, when brethren dwell together in unity!"
