In my previous post, I spoke about reconciliation and forgiveness. Once each of us has asked God for forgiveness of our sin, we can begin the reconciliation process with one another. In 1 Thessalonians 5:11, we are called to “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” Paul wrote this letter to the Thessalonians after receiving a report about the spiritual health of the church and a concern about growing issues they were having.

    

Why would uplifting one another be such a vital part of the process of unifying the body of Christ? I must believe it is because of what Paul writes in Philippians 2:3: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” When we lift up brothers and sisters in Christ, we are placing ourselves in a lower position.

    

Jesus later told these men and us today, “You are going to be the ones who take my gospel to the world. You are going to do things much greater than I did.” Jesus chose His disciples to carry out this task because He believed they could change the world. Jesus believes the church today can continue changing the world by carrying out His command to take the Gospel to the world. Jesus prayed we would experience a unity that He had with His Father. This is a huge goal, one that I call a BHAG (big hairy audacious goal).

    

As PHBC works through the process of being united in vision and mission, we as individuals need to ask the serious, hard question, “How can I uplift my fellow brother or sister in Christ?” or, “What can I do that will help them follow Jesus Christ and fulfill their God-given mission?” When we first focus on lifting up Christ in our lives and then one another, we begin taking steps to begin ministering in unity.