Single minded

So the runners passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun; but they laughed at them and mocked them. Nevertheless some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. Also the hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, at the word of the Lord. – 2 Chronicles 30.10-12

It is obvious that the best way for any group of people to be successful they need to be united. A house divided against itself surely cannot stand.

The runners who were sent out by Hezekiah to try and turn the nation back to God were mostly rejected. But a few from a few tribes did humble themselves and come t to Jerusalem for the Passover. Those who did had a ‘singleness of heart’ to obey the king and submit to the word of God.

It's this singleness of mind that caught my attention. It is something that transcends Old and New Testaments. We read things like it is good that men should dwell together in unity. We also read that double cord is strong but a triple cord is nearly unbreakable. Jesus said that a house divided against itself cannot stand and President Lincoln much later said the same thing about a divided America.

But I think my favourite passage about unity is from the book of Philippians. Paul is stresses the importance of believers having one mind when he says: ‘ Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfil my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.’

So how do we achieve that like-mindedness? Paul writes in the same context ‘let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.'

Think about it. If we all have the mind of Christ we will all have the same mind. And the wonderful bit is that that same mind will be the mind of Christ. Imagine a church where everyone has the mind of Christ. If everyone did that there would be no selfishness, no self-centredness, and no greed. Instead the spirit of agape would be the thing that untied us and gave us a single mind.

So strive for unity, not division. That doesn’t mean we compromise truth – it means that we lay aside our petty preferences for that single, Christ-like mind.