Proverbs 27.11
“Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him who reproaches me.”
This proverb is the heart of a parent (mother or father) appealing to their children (daughter or son) to walk in wisdom. Wise children are a joy to the hearts of parents. That is why godly parents work and pray diligently to raise their children to follow the path of the kingdom of God and reject the lies and distortions of this present evil world.
I sense pain in this proverb. The father is deeply concerned because he desires for his son to be wise, and yet, the father is facing criticism and reproach from others because his son is not following the right path.
Is this a metaphor for God’s appeal to us, his children? How often is God criticized and rejected by people in the world because of the attitude and behavior of disobedient Christians? We are called to be agents of the kingdom, but that requires us to act in a way that reflects the kingdom.
When Jesus calls you, he calls you into a kingdom community. God’s eternal purpose is to create a unique fellowship of redeemed and transformed people who live and work in a manner that makes God and his kingdom known to a watching world.
Jesus said that love and unity are the mark of a Christian. “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13.35). “I ask that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21).
Unity empowers the Christian community to operate at full capacity.
If God’s people come together as a team focused on achieving common goals, our unified effort would bring divine power and transforming impact to the world. If the people of God were to operate with the love and unity to which the Lord calls us, we would become the single greatest force for productive change in history.
For some, unity is a vague, dream-like wish for a day when Christians sweetly smile at each other and sing in harmony; disagreements are resolved and eliminated; and we all say, think, and do the same identical things. But prior to Jesus’ return, the Bible doesn’t promise that a day will come when we all agree about everything. This is a false concept of unity. It’s a fantasy that will never be reached until the second coming.
So what is unity? Unity occurs when people are united in action and energy for the common cause of the kingdom of God. The shared goal is so strong that it removes hostilities, eliminates egos, puts away non-essential disagreements, and gives previously divided people a reason to take their place alongside each other. When this occurs, different gifts, talents, and blessings become connected and integrated, and the result is an amazing release of divine power executed through faithful people that could achieve and accomplish what currently seems impossible.
Trust God and do the work.
