One in Spirit and Purpose

“. . . then make my joy complete by being like-minded,

 having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.”

 Philippians 2:2 (NIV)

           Paul tells the Philippians to be of similar minds. This thought could be understood to have two meanings. 1. Every one who works for the Lord should understand the thinking of those with whom they minister. 2. All who minister in the name of Christ should have His mind.

           To have the same heart that of Jesus Charles Sheldon wrote a classic, In His Steps-What Would Jesus Do? The story told of a church that had an unusual visitor one Sunday. Something happened that caused the pastor to re-evaluate his walk with the Lord. The entire congregation was invited to enter into this project of asking themselves, “What would Jesus do?” before they made any decisions. Asking that one question changed the lives of a lot of the people.

           Paul challenges us to be “one in spirit and purpose”. Here he speaks of unity. Again our souls should be melded into one with each other and with Jesus Christ. A hymn written by Peter Scholtes in the 1960’s speaks of this concept. “They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love” The first verse starts out, “We are one in the Spirit, we are

one in the Lord. . .” That verse ends with the line, “And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.” The writer has some wonderful thoughts in the verses that follow.

            Periodically, God’s children should ask if we are of the same mind as Jesus. When we do this exercise, we should go back to the basics of our faith and search our hearts for the way God wants us to live. If anything that displeases God comes to our hearts and minds, we need to make things right with Him.

Graphic: jeshua21.wordpress.com

Gospel Song: They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love