Think about what we have in Christ: the encouragement He has brought us, the comfort of His love, our sharing in His Spirit, and the mercy and kindness He has shown us. If you enjoy these blessings, then do what will make my joy complete: Agree with each other, and show your love for each other. Be united in your goals and in the way you think. Philippians 2: 1-2
In my quiet time this month, I have been looking at Philippians and what it has to say about Christian unity. I believe that Philippians teaches us that to be united as Christians we need to agree with each other, be of one mind, united in the way we think. This agreement must be based on truth found in God’s word. We must also be united in our goals. Philippians 1:27 says that our goal should be to help others believe the Good News. Thirdly, we must love each other as Christ has loved us. It is often difficult for Christians to agree with each other, to work together to bring others to Christ and to love each other with a Christ-like love; but we are able to do so because we who are Christians have had the privilege of experiencing Christ’s encouragement, the comfort of his love, the sharing in his Spirit, and the mercy and kindness that Christ has shown us. As we celebrate Christmas this year I am glad to experience again the fullness of God’s love given to us through Jesus Christ who was named Immanuel, God with us. And I am thankful for the unity there is among those of us here in Thailand and our prayer and financial partners around the world. Thank you for working with us to help others come to know and accept the God News of God’s salvation. I wish you a wonderful Christmas!