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Athletic teams often join hands before they play. They do it to foster cohesion, unity, and trust. It’s a way of visibly saying, “We are united; we will work together to win.” A vital truth for believers in Jesus Christ is that, despite differences in culture, ethnicity, or even certain doctrines, God has united His people into one body called the church. Jesus Christ made that point in his high priestly prayer (Jn. 17). He said, “Father, I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—As you are in me Father, and I am in you. May they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians Chapter 10, “Though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body.” We miss the significance of the oneness of Christ’s body if we fail to recognize the unity we share with all believers everywhere. Christ declares that we are one. When we deny that unity by our superior attitude toward our education, our ethnicity, or even our doctrine, we distort our Lord’s vision. When we partake of the bread and cup, our focus is rightly on Christ’s supreme sacrifice for our sins; but also we can remind ourselves of our unity with other believers, of our Lord’s call to live a holy life, and His mission that we declare His love, justice, and righteous living in our world.
