When I hear folks talk about unity, I think of a story shared by Justin Elder. Justin had befriended Ahmed, a student from Saudi Arabia studying at Texas Southern University. They had been talking about their relationship and Justin shared this passage from Psalm 133.

How good and pleasant it is

    when God’s people live together in unity!

It is like precious oil poured on the head,

    running down on the beard,

running down on Aaron’s beard,

    down on the collar of his robe.

It is as if the dew of Hermon

    were falling on Mount Zion.

For there the Lord bestows his blessing,

    even life forevermore.

Psalm 133:1-3

Ahmed exclaimed, “I know that oil! It comes from my country.”  He ran into the bedroom and came out with a tiny, one half ounce vial. Holding the vial up he said, “This vial costs $1000.”

That is very costly oil! Even in Biblical times, it would have been very expensive. I guess I always pictured a more common oil, like olive oil, would be used. But no. According to someone from that region, it's likely they're referring to very expensive oil.

The Cost of Christian Unity

So, I started thinking. How many little bottles, at $1000 per one-half ounce, would it take to run down Aaron’s head, run down his beard, and down on the collar of his robe? I can not begin to imagine, but at today’s prices, we are talking about thousands of dollars. That is a high value to place on unity. 

I am often more concerned about being right than I am about being in unity with my fellow believers, but I am learning to place more value on unity. 

I share this verse and story with the teams I take to Russia. Team unity is very important when we go overseas to share the gospel and work with other Christians. There was a definite lack of unity on one of my first mission trips. 

Discord on Mission

I saw an article in a missions publication about twenty-five years ago, and I also share this story with my teams to bring home the importance of team unity.

In the mid-1990s I trained ministry teams to go into the former Soviet Union. Their task: to prepare Russian school teachers to teach Christian ethics in Russian public schools. One of our team leaders, who had been to Russia previously, reported the comment of a newly converted Russian Christian who had observed on an earlier trip:  “Why doesn’t your team go home until they like each other, and then come back and share the gospel?”

Ouch!  And that was not an uncommon observation. Russians in nearly every city were stunned by the relational struggles on the American teams.

“Team” means that each player actively works for unity. Unity is never an accident. It is a choice and a process. It comes from esteeming “we” (the church) above “I” ( the individual believer).  Without this kind of community, vision is nearly impossible. With it, nothing is impossible.  

If you go to Bible Gateway and look up “love one another,” you will find this phrase nineteen times in the New Testament. Among those, we find Jesus commanding it in John 13:34-35. Paul, John, Peter, and the writer of Hebrews repeat it often.

So, Christian unity may be costly but not so much as our division. A look at the early church shows that pagans were drawn to the church because of their love for each other. People today still need that love, especially in times of crisis. We lift up our Savior by loving His sheep.

Sally Hinzie is a Church Consultant who has worked at UBA for many years. Her primary areas of ministry focus include church planting, bible storying training, organic church, and ministry implementation.

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