Church of God, Singapore

UNITY

...then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose (Phil 2:2, NIV).

Every family unit, organisation and country is wary of this highly explosive nemesis - disunity. I'm a member of our constituency's IRCC - a functional grass-root dialogue group that meets regularly to strengthen social cohesion amongst members of the different communities. IRCC is the acronym for Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle.

When there are differences, there will be diversity - of practices, opinions, convictions, preferences etc. While this could be exploited by mischievous and chauvinist groups, it need not be a feared liability if we're willing to build trust and strengthen relationships. The IRCC has a clever but realistic tag-line - different races, many beliefs, one nation.

The Bible recognises the necessity for differences. Paul said to the disunited Corinthians, "No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval" (I Corinthians 11:19). We ought to celebrate diversity. We're unique individuals made in the image of God.

Our individuality is not meant to be a threat to the larger community but a cause for celebration. It's not wrong to have differences of opinions over certain things like worship times or styles, or even indeterminable theological events like the timing of the rapture. I think too often, we allow personal likes or dislikes to colour our perception of others.

Unity is a very precious but extremely fragile social and spiritual epoxy. Family relationships and close friendships forged over many years can break up over a simple incident or seemingly trivial matters. Of course, to the antagonists, nothing is ever simple or trivial. When you're sensitive, even the most innocuous remark can sound outrageously offensive. Christians are not impervious to this human volatility. In fact, we might even be more susceptible as we tend to expect more from each other.

 God places a very high premium on unity. That is His very nature. Jesus proclaims, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30).  He specifically prays for unity among his disciples and future followers (John 17:20, 21).

But that unity can be easily shattered. The Philippian church was a tender and loving, caring and giving church. When the (mainly Jewish) Jerusalem church was going through a famine, they (a Gentile church) responded readily and gave beyond their means, out of their poverty. This church also supported Paul when others forgot him. They even sent their best person Epaphroditus to minister to him in prison.

But their solidarity was threatened by two seemingly dependable women, who couldn't quite agree with each other. Paul saw the danger and had to publicly plead with them to agree with each other and in the Lord.

We'll be introducing a significant change in June. We're merging the two services together. The new service time is 10:30 a.m. This change may require you to make certain adjustments. Some might welcome the change while others might prefer the present arrangement. Whatever your preference, we seek your understanding in supporting the change. Let's stay united as a joyful body of Christ.