I have been thinking a lot about unity since I recently attended a 3BI (Billye Brim Bible Institute) class entitled Outpourings, Revivals, and Awakenings. It was an excellent class, and I would highly recommend taking it online when it becomes available. 

In every move of God, there was repentance and prayer. One of the men we studied in depth was George Whitefield. He united the colonies during the 1700s, and he is responsible for the phrase “One Nation Under God.” 

There were many different denominations at that time, and Whitefield preached: “Father Abraham, whom have you in Heaven? Any Episcopalians? NO! Any Presbyterians? NO! Any Independents or Seceders, New Sides or Old Sides, any Methodists? NO! NO! NO! Whom have you there then, Father Abraham? We don’t know those names here! All who are here are Christians.”

He was kicked out of the Church of England and every other church, so he preached in the open air. He also preached sermons that were not the written ones he was supposed to preach. He became close friends with Benjamin Franklin. He traveled on horseback to many places, preaching to thousands of people. One time Franklin decided to see how far Whitefield’s voice could reach. After measuring the distance, he estimated that Whitefield could be heard by 25,000 people. 

The Sight & Sound Theatre team wanted to make a movie about the founding of our nation for our 250^th anniversary. The writer was experiencing writer’s block because he wanted the story to focus on our Founding Father, George Washington.  One night the Lord spoke to him. “You have the wrong George. It is George Whitefield you need to write about.” That’s when everything began to flow. The movie is excellent. It’s called A Great Awakening and is showing in select theaters. I hope you all go see it. 

When I got home from the class, we received a package in the mail from some friends inviting us to their church for Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. These friends are Mormons, and I think that if I hadn’t just been in that class, I would have thrown the whole package away. That’s what I usually do with materials I don’t agree with—Jehovah’s Witness materials, etc.  

But this time, I read through some of it. One article was entitled The Articles of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It had 13 statements, and I was surprised that I agreed with several of them. The first one read, “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” 

Hey—that sounds like they may be my brothers and sisters. And I may see them in heaven. At least some of them. Does any denomination have the whole counsel of God? Are all church-going people Christians? I don’t think so.

I am glad that is an area I don’t have to judge. We can be fruit inspectors, but we don’t know the condition of someone’s heart. I know some Christians caught up in homosexuality who will probably be in heaven. In fact, we might be surprised by who we see there.

I love the Word of Faith movement, but are we right on everything? Probably not. But one thing is sure—we stick with the Word, which John tells us is Jesus.  

I think God is stretching me. How can any religion we disagree with know the truth if we don’t walk in love toward them? Didn’t Jesus say they will know we are Christians by our love?

Will Muslims or any other religion know God unless we walk in love and show them our God? Will any of those we disagree with doctrinally come to know Him if we separate from them? 

And of course, the foundational truth is that Jesus is the Son of God. He came to earth to save us. He died and rose again, and He is coming back. Hopefully we can all agree on that and walk in unity. Other things may not be that important in the light of eternity. 

Unity is so important, and we see that clearly in the Bible at the Tower of Babel.  I am sure the people building the tower didn’t agree on everything, but they were in unity to the point that God had to confuse their language because He said nothing was impossible for them (Genesis 11:1-9). They were united in building a tower “whose top is in the heavens” and making a name for themselves (v. 4).

I’m sensing God is trying to get me—to get us—out of our boxes and love everyone. Are we living in a time when God is asking denominations to come together in unity? Is God once again trying to get the Church to unify like George Whitefield helped the colonies unify? What would happen if all Christians walked in unity and loved like Jesus?

John 13:34-35 – “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” 

Love like Jesus loves. It’s a commandment.