I live in a miracle nation; my beloved nation South Africa. I love South Africa; we have beautiful people. God has done miracle upon miracle for us, in His grace. South Africans of many different cultures united, is what we have experienced, such as during and after the latest Rugby World Cup. We won the Rugby World Cup; the first nation to win the Rugby World Cup four times. We have been celebrating; I truly believe that God knew we needed this victory. It is difficult to explain in words. I was a young girl in 1995 when we won the Rugby World Cup for the first time; I remember that it was important for our new rainbow nation. It was time to start healing, and moving forward from our broken, divided past.
During this latest Rugby World Cup, tears came to my eyes when I heard our national anthem Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika (God Bless Africa). We are united. We are from all different backgrounds, but united. There is peace. It has been exciting to celebrate together. This Rugby World Cup trophy is for us, each and every South African. The last three games that our courageous Springboks played in this Rugby World Cup, we won by 1 point. There have been many highlighting the power of 1, the power of unity. The Springbok motto is “Stronger Together”, which is so powerful and true. There is negativity in this world; the enemy does try to divide people. There is so much power in unity. We need to just ignore the negativity, and allow our hearts to be united and at rest.
Jesus prayed for us to be as one.
In His final prayer, known as the High Priestly Prayer, before being betrayed and taken away to be put on trial, Jesus included in His prayer for His disciples “…that they may be one, even as we are one” (John 17: 11, ESV). Then Jesus also prayed for us, for those who will believe in Him:
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 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. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (John 17: 20-23, ESV).
God wants us to be reconciled with Him, and wants His children to be united with each other. God wants unity. When we are united, we glorify God, and show others how much God loves us.
We celebrate at Christmas time, the birth of Jesus Christ. Our Father God “…gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NIV). God loves us so much. God made it possible for us to be reconciled to Him. “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19, NIV).
Every person needs to be reconciled with God. We have all fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), and need our sins to be forgiven. We in ourselves are not able to pay the debt of our sins, but we have a Saviour Jesus Christ. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV). We share with others the good news of this beautiful reconciliation to Himself, God has done for us. And we also then seek reconciliation with others.
We are one body in Christ (Romans 12:5). We are each different from each other. Just as the body is made up of many parts, we each are a part of one body (1 Corinthians 12:12). It is so important for you to be uniquely you. Each part of the body is important, if “… one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it (1 Corinthians 12:26, NIV). The church has “…apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11, ESV), to equip the church for “…building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God…” (Ephesians 4:12–13, ESV). The church is being built up in love, we are learning and growing as we allow God to lead us. We need to listen to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit unites us. “For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body…” (1 Corinthians 12:13, NIV). In one body, we are called to peace. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful” (Colossians 3:15, NIV). We choose to surrender and be at peace. There is peace, when there is unity.
It is sad to me to see when there is fighting and division among people, around the world in any circumstances when everybody is brought down, and no-one is moving forward. We may be insulted and criticised by others who do not understand us, but we can stand united. There is no need to attack each other over our differences; we are all human beings who need to know our Saviour Jesus. The enemy would love to divide us, as we are stronger together. God planned for His people to each play their part in the body of Christ, strong together, united in one body accomplishing His kingdom purposes on earth. We need to bear …”with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3:13-14, NIV).
Perfect unity is to be aimed for. God blesses unity (Psalm 133). Unity is worth fighting for. Fighting, for example, in the sense of actively seeking God’s help to forgive others. I am sure you have heard said that forgiveness is not saying the behaviour is fine, but choosing to let it go, and let God bring justice and to defend. In dangerous situations, you can forgive while still having healthy boundaries and keeping a safe distance. Fighting in the sense of being patient with others when dealing with their mistakes and issues. No human being is perfect. We make a point to show grace to each other, and focus on what we have in common. We choose to love. We each contribute our much-needed part, and face our challenges together. We are stronger in different aspects, and we are a blessing to each other. Fighting in the sense of fighting on our knees, in prayer.
We pray for each other. I love to pray Romans 15:5-6, “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:5-6, ESV). I pray for my family, friends, colleagues, community, church, and my nation. Today 16 December in South Africa is a public holiday known as the Day of Reconciliation. We, as South Africans, have a rich history of reconciliation. We could not have moved forward without it, and who knows what other added tragedy could have happened without it. Unity has been, and is still beautiful and essential. Praise God! We celebrate our blessings. At Christmas time, we celebrate the gift our Father God gave us in sending His Son to save us and reconcile us to Him. Thank-you God!
Prayer
Dear Father God,
Thank-You for Your faithfulness. You promised to send us our Saviour, and our Saviour Jesus did come to earth to save us, to make a way for us to be reconciled to You. Such a celebration at Christmas time! Praise Your Mighty Name! There is none like You.
May You help us to receive Your gift of salvation, and to allow You Holy Spirit to lead us as we walk each day reconciled to You God. As we are growing and learning, and “…attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13, NIV). May You help us to live in unity with people, contribute our much-needed part as a blessing to others, and be peacemakers. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9, NIV). Thank-You for Your love for unique and special me. I want to glorify You God, rest in Your love for me, and share Your love with others.
In Jesus name, Amen.