Day 7

<sup>Philippians 1

27</sup>Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. ²⁹For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, ³⁰engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

I appreciate that there's a rough outline description of what a "life worthy of the gospel should include. 1) Standing firm in one spirit, 2) one mind, 3) striving side by side. I'm no Bible scholar, but "one spirit" says to me that we all have the same intent - same motives - that we are unified in what the ultimate goal is. I don't know if we can say that, at least in my church if not for all of America. I think different people have different ideas of what the ultimate ends are. Some really think the goal of "church" is to make a bunch of perfect people who can all attend this little exclusive club meeting each week...only if you're perfect that is. Others believe it's a place to gush "love" out of every pore, whether that be in the form of emotional outbursts or a general attitude of "we love everyone just the way they are." I think both of these are misguided. I once heard someone say that God loves you the way you are but He loves you too much to let you stay the way you are. God, the perfect Father, loves us as we are but also, like any good Father, disciplines and corrects his children. Love and Sanctification go hand-in-hand, and both are a lifelong process - a goal to which we strive but never achieve (in this life).
This isn't intended to be a manifesto on what we as Christians should believe, but rather a call for Christianity to become "of one spirit" - to really evaluate the huge list of doctrine we say we believe in - the same doctrine that usually divides us especially in Protestant Christianity - and unite under those things that really matter. Imagine if all of Christianity worked together toward the same goal "in one spirit". If we could agree on what the "goal" is - what the spirit of the gospel is - the body of Christ might truly change the whole world.
Lord, give us eyes to see past what "we believe" so we can see what You believe; so we can see what truly matters. Lead us toward one spirit, and shower us with Your grace as we make lots of mistakes along the way. In Jesus' name.