Together # 19
A Together that Holds Together
A Together that Holds Together
Live Together in Harmony
copyright by Dick Wulf, 2018
Work harmoniously with other believers. Use your God-given abilities in your friendships, family, marriage, church or small group. Christianity is not an individual pursuit, but the dance of the Bride with all body parts in beautiful synchronization.
Rom 12:16; 1 Cor 12:4-25; l Peter 3:8
It may have been purposeful that God used a word like “harmony” that is so closely tied to music to describe an aspect of how He wants us to live together in His kingdom.
“Live in harmony with one another.”
Romans 12:16
Romans 12:16
When all musical sounds harmonize, an exceptional composition arises. How we live and serve God in cooperative harmony is like music to God. Harmony in Christian friendships, Christian families and Christian marriages create millions of beautiful songs of praise for God.
Harmony is order, a pattern that belongs together and functions properly.
An orchestra or band with some musical instruments absent, off key, or with notes out of place is not only lacking harmony, the music is very unpleasing. We Christians should want to grow in our ability to live and serve together harmoniously and make our lives as pleasing to God as we can. This will take as much effort as does the diligent practice of accomplished musicians.
Harmony can also be seen in team athletics. Perhaps the college basketball playoffs are called “the Big Dance” because players move in designed patterns to get the ball into the basket. If a player misses his “choreographed” move, the basketball play breaks down and scoring points becomes quite a bit more difficult.
God created harmony everywhere. Trillions of different parts fulfill their prescribed functions. Two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom harmonize to create water. Gravity does its part and pulls water downhill. Our lungs draw in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide in regularity for years on end. Harmony is essential to life everywhere.
Similarly, God asks His people to live in harmony because that is essential to spiritual life. We each have our part as determined by God’s design and His sovereign control of the circumstances of our lives. We fit together in an infinity of configurations to live for God and do His will. Therefore, this command to live in harmony with one another is huge in its importance.
Christians are the body of Christ, a body with parts that are to function together in harmony.
Harmony is order, a pattern that belongs together and functions properly.
An orchestra or band with some musical instruments absent, off key, or with notes out of place is not only lacking harmony, the music is very unpleasing. We Christians should want to grow in our ability to live and serve together harmoniously and make our lives as pleasing to God as we can. This will take as much effort as does the diligent practice of accomplished musicians.
Harmony can also be seen in team athletics. Perhaps the college basketball playoffs are called “the Big Dance” because players move in designed patterns to get the ball into the basket. If a player misses his “choreographed” move, the basketball play breaks down and scoring points becomes quite a bit more difficult.
God created harmony everywhere. Trillions of different parts fulfill their prescribed functions. Two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom harmonize to create water. Gravity does its part and pulls water downhill. Our lungs draw in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide in regularity for years on end. Harmony is essential to life everywhere.
Similarly, God asks His people to live in harmony because that is essential to spiritual life. We each have our part as determined by God’s design and His sovereign control of the circumstances of our lives. We fit together in an infinity of configurations to live for God and do His will. Therefore, this command to live in harmony with one another is huge in its importance.
Christians are the body of Christ, a body with parts that are to function together in harmony.
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
1 Cor 12:27
1 Cor 12:27
As the visible body of Christ, we harmonize to be Jesus to the world around us. However, too often we think of this from an individualistic perspective. Then, we offer the world the foot of Jesus, not the whole, harmonious, living Christ.
Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 1 Cor 12:15-26 |
Obviously, the challenge to harmony in Christians relationships for the glory of God is at least 2,000 years old. The Apostle Paul had to speak to the problem of individuality way back then. We need to work hard to grasp this concept of harmony. It seems so simple, but it is not easy. If we trivialize it, we diminish the power of the people of God.
Harmony starts with mental recognition that Jesus is present and essential to the harmony God wants. Jesus, as Lord, has the authority to direct each of us to do our part in harmony with Himself as well as with one another for whatever He is doing in the world and in us.
Think of larger Christian gatherings like orchestras and Christian small groups like smaller chamber music ensembles. Jesus is the conductor who writes the musical scores. We are the instruments with the musical notes. The Holy Spirit is the musician and produces music through us for Jesus. And, Jesus does it for God the Father.
Christian friendships, Christian families, and Christian marriages are like bands with innumerable songs to sing. If we obey Jesus as the band leader to work together harmoniously in our living and in our serving, we create beautiful melodies for God.
An example of harmonious teamwork is found in John 20 when Peter and John go to the empty tomb. They would not have accomplished their task apart from harmony. Let’s look at the togetherness in this event, each disciple doing his part as created by God. Peter’s holy impulsiveness caused he and John to head out running after hearing from Mary Magdalene that Jesus’ body was gone from the tomb. John at that time in his life was faster and reached the empty tomb first. But, John was not sufficiently brave to do more than peer in. Peter, the bold one who would after the resurrection dive right into the water upon seeing Jesus standing on the shore and then go on to be the leader of Christianity, barged right on into the tomb. Finally it was John’s part to play because Peter did not understand what it all meant. John realized that Jesus had come alive!
Here is another example. When we tell a mom and dad that they will have to work together to bring their children’s behavior under control, we are talking about harmony. Harmony is working together rather than autonomously or in different directions. It involves at least cooperation, collaboration, and synergy to mesh our different assets to serve God together efficiently and effectively.
Each of us been designed by God to yield our own particular contributions. Think of these as our own unique musical sounds. When we are with one or two other Christians, there are millions of possible combinations of notes for songs numbering in the hundreds of thousands.. Within each grouping of 2 or 3 together with Jesus, songs are created to match the situations He wants to impact. Then Jesus directs the musical production and the Holy Spirit is the musician bringing out the notes from each of us in such harmony that the work of God is done well.
Likening the patterns of interactions of Christian friendships, families and marriages to songs in order to understand the harmony God commands of His people should help us understand the vital importance that we live in harmony. Every time a few Christians get together there are capabilities to be combined for God’s work. It is in our frequent gatherings within the various groupings of our Christian Inner Circles that harmony can so powerfully be used by God.
Therefore, it is critical that we take stock of what we each bring to every task the Lord gives us in our Christian friendships, in our Christian families, and in our Christian marriages. When we determine to serve God together, we must be ready to harmonize, or fit together, our different talents and gifts when we receive an assignment. Without harmony each person’s contribution will not be sought out and honored and the work of God will not go on as He wants. Even when the task gets done, it will not be with the harmony God desires and will glorify God less.
Each time God wants to use a Christian friendship or family or marriage, He wants everyone involved with their contribution that has been made available to them by their creative design by God and the life circumstances God has taken them through. The possible combinations of talents and life experiences needed by a friendship group, family or marriage are even more varied and vast than are songs from the musical scale of notes. Working together in harmony mixes the necessary talents to make up God’s intervention through us for something good either in the church or outside in society.
Opportunity to Become More and More Like Jesus Christ
Harmony starts with mental recognition that Jesus is present and essential to the harmony God wants. Jesus, as Lord, has the authority to direct each of us to do our part in harmony with Himself as well as with one another for whatever He is doing in the world and in us.
Think of larger Christian gatherings like orchestras and Christian small groups like smaller chamber music ensembles. Jesus is the conductor who writes the musical scores. We are the instruments with the musical notes. The Holy Spirit is the musician and produces music through us for Jesus. And, Jesus does it for God the Father.
Christian friendships, Christian families, and Christian marriages are like bands with innumerable songs to sing. If we obey Jesus as the band leader to work together harmoniously in our living and in our serving, we create beautiful melodies for God.
An example of harmonious teamwork is found in John 20 when Peter and John go to the empty tomb. They would not have accomplished their task apart from harmony. Let’s look at the togetherness in this event, each disciple doing his part as created by God. Peter’s holy impulsiveness caused he and John to head out running after hearing from Mary Magdalene that Jesus’ body was gone from the tomb. John at that time in his life was faster and reached the empty tomb first. But, John was not sufficiently brave to do more than peer in. Peter, the bold one who would after the resurrection dive right into the water upon seeing Jesus standing on the shore and then go on to be the leader of Christianity, barged right on into the tomb. Finally it was John’s part to play because Peter did not understand what it all meant. John realized that Jesus had come alive!
Here is another example. When we tell a mom and dad that they will have to work together to bring their children’s behavior under control, we are talking about harmony. Harmony is working together rather than autonomously or in different directions. It involves at least cooperation, collaboration, and synergy to mesh our different assets to serve God together efficiently and effectively.
Each of us been designed by God to yield our own particular contributions. Think of these as our own unique musical sounds. When we are with one or two other Christians, there are millions of possible combinations of notes for songs numbering in the hundreds of thousands.. Within each grouping of 2 or 3 together with Jesus, songs are created to match the situations He wants to impact. Then Jesus directs the musical production and the Holy Spirit is the musician bringing out the notes from each of us in such harmony that the work of God is done well.
Likening the patterns of interactions of Christian friendships, families and marriages to songs in order to understand the harmony God commands of His people should help us understand the vital importance that we live in harmony. Every time a few Christians get together there are capabilities to be combined for God’s work. It is in our frequent gatherings within the various groupings of our Christian Inner Circles that harmony can so powerfully be used by God.
Therefore, it is critical that we take stock of what we each bring to every task the Lord gives us in our Christian friendships, in our Christian families, and in our Christian marriages. When we determine to serve God together, we must be ready to harmonize, or fit together, our different talents and gifts when we receive an assignment. Without harmony each person’s contribution will not be sought out and honored and the work of God will not go on as He wants. Even when the task gets done, it will not be with the harmony God desires and will glorify God less.
Each time God wants to use a Christian friendship or family or marriage, He wants everyone involved with their contribution that has been made available to them by their creative design by God and the life circumstances God has taken them through. The possible combinations of talents and life experiences needed by a friendship group, family or marriage are even more varied and vast than are songs from the musical scale of notes. Working together in harmony mixes the necessary talents to make up God’s intervention through us for something good either in the church or outside in society.
Opportunity to Become More and More Like Jesus Christ
In this friendship of 2 single men with Jesus, Michael is very in tune with people and their emotions while Andrew is very talented in fixing mechanical things. Together they have songs written by Jesus and played by the Holy Spirit for specific situations. One such situation was a young single parent mother with limited income who had car trouble. She was distraught by her inability to get to work and she needed her car fixed. Therefore, Andrew and Michael had the song that needed to be sung for the glory of God. Since their friendship was serving Jesus with harmony, Michael helped this young woman with her despair and Andrew with her car repair. One of the notes without the other would not have been harmonious. Either the woman or the car would have been repaired, but not both.
Single notes will not bring the song that will most please the Father’s ears. God the Father wants to hear the song composed by His Son and played by the Holy Spirit. And that required both friends serving in harmony. |
Jesus lived in complete harmony with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. The 3 Persons of the one God each have different roles, but they dovetail perfectly.
When we are together and we keep right our roles with Jesus and our roles with one another, we become more like Jesus, the goal of our faith.
When we are together and we keep right our roles with Jesus and our roles with one another, we become more like Jesus, the goal of our faith.
For those God foreknew
he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son . . . .
Romans 8:29
he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son . . . .
Romans 8:29
There are a couple of good examples of a few believers working in harmony with Jesus. Each time Jesus fed the multitudes, He did his part and the disciples did what He asked of them. Jesus did the miracles of dividing the few fish and loaves into thousands of meals. As asked, the disciples distributed the food and cleaned up afterward.
Even though Jesus is not visible to us as He was then, He is nevertheless still present to direct our actions for the work of God. He will do the miraculous if that is needed. That is up to Him. But, as with the feeding of the thousands, He will likely not do what we were made capable of doing. Instead, He assigns most actions to us. Out of overwhelming thankfulness for all He is to us, we express our love by doing what He asks with willing and joyful responsiveness.
Music helps illustrate something else that is very important. While our obedient actions are notes in the song, our love with which they are done provides wonderful depth to the music. When everyone in our “2 or 3 gatherings” has the deep love of thankfulness while working together, such harmony is professional, no long amateurish.
Let’s be like Jesus who is always harmonious with His Father. Let’s be harmonious with Jesus and one another in life with love as our motivation.
Opportunity to Worship God
Even though Jesus is not visible to us as He was then, He is nevertheless still present to direct our actions for the work of God. He will do the miraculous if that is needed. That is up to Him. But, as with the feeding of the thousands, He will likely not do what we were made capable of doing. Instead, He assigns most actions to us. Out of overwhelming thankfulness for all He is to us, we express our love by doing what He asks with willing and joyful responsiveness.
Music helps illustrate something else that is very important. While our obedient actions are notes in the song, our love with which they are done provides wonderful depth to the music. When everyone in our “2 or 3 gatherings” has the deep love of thankfulness while working together, such harmony is professional, no long amateurish.
Let’s be like Jesus who is always harmonious with His Father. Let’s be harmonious with Jesus and one another in life with love as our motivation.
Opportunity to Worship God
The Tucker Family of Dad, Mom, 10-year-old Bobby, and 15-year-old Sue possesses a number of musical notes to play a hundred different songs, meaning a variety of personal qualities and skills to accomplish a hundred different assignments from God.
When 15-year-old cousin Jake got in trouble for shoplifting, concerned thoughts floated through each family member’s head like the beginning of a ballad. The first notes were Mom saying how sad the situation was. But it was the contribution of teenager Sue that the Holy Spirit played next when she asked with desperation, “Isn’t there anything we can do?” The plan developed like a song with each family member’s contribution adding something to a synergistic discussion that finally produced action that ushered in the second verse of the ballad. We have space for only highlights of how the Tucker Family worked harmoniously to help cousin Jake. Bobby asked his cousin Jake to play catch with him to break the ice and show Jake that he was still valuable. Bobby’s fun-loving age and personality added a background melody that lightened Jake’s spirit. Sue, who was the same age as Jake, invited him to go with her and two girlfriends to a movie after coaching the friends on how to encourage Jake to be more law-abiding. After clearing it with Jake’s father who is Dad’s brother, Dad took Jake out for a milkshake. As an uncle, Dad had always been in his nephew’s corner and had built the relationship that allowed a man-to-man talk that would seem safe. He wanted to get down to the bottom of why Jake shoplifted. Clearly a problem needed to be solved and Dad was an uncle with great problem-solving skills. The Holy Spirit used Mom to encourage Dad, Sue and Bobby to do their parts well. She rewarded everyone with their favorite desserts. Working with Jake took a few months, but Jake never did break the law again and eventually graduated from college. Even more important, the Tucker Family honored God by working harmonious as He had asked. That was exceptional worship. |
God has given us power in community to live together in harmony. When we live harmoniously, we reflect by imitation that perfect harmony and teamwork of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is worship.
The Three Persons of God never work on their own. They do not act as individuals because they are not, the three of them are one. They are never independent of one another. This is the model for Christians living and serving God in harmony.
Mimicking the harmony in the Godhead of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a small group of 3 friends with Jesus can perfect how they work together. Imagine these 3 friends taking on volunteer tasks together, either in their church or in the community after perfecting their teamwork over 3 years to highly-tuned cooperation, consistency, understanding, and synergy. Now, finally reaching a high level of functioning, they contact an organization seeking volunteers and say, “The three of us have worked together as a team for three years and hope to stay together as a team volunteering for at least ten more years. Do you have anything such a team could do? We spell one another when one is sick and we know how to work efficiently.” How many churches and community organizations would be attracted to such an offer?
This is an example of what can and should happen in Christian friendship groups, Christian families and Christian marriages. They can serve with enough frequency to perfect their teamwork. And, they can last for years in service together for God. Plus, if people move away, the two left in the friendship group can bring another into their fold and indoctrinate the new person into how they work harmoniously. Over time families will shrink to only marriages, but in the meantime everything the children learn about harmonious teamwork will benefit them for the rest of their lives.
This long-term harmonious behavior is not new. An extended family getting together for Thanksgiving every year has each woman making her specialty for the holiday meal. This goes on year after year. In the same way, men who regularly go hunting each do their special part of preparing for each outing year after year.
How Used in Battle to Defeat Evil and Satan
The Three Persons of God never work on their own. They do not act as individuals because they are not, the three of them are one. They are never independent of one another. This is the model for Christians living and serving God in harmony.
Mimicking the harmony in the Godhead of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a small group of 3 friends with Jesus can perfect how they work together. Imagine these 3 friends taking on volunteer tasks together, either in their church or in the community after perfecting their teamwork over 3 years to highly-tuned cooperation, consistency, understanding, and synergy. Now, finally reaching a high level of functioning, they contact an organization seeking volunteers and say, “The three of us have worked together as a team for three years and hope to stay together as a team volunteering for at least ten more years. Do you have anything such a team could do? We spell one another when one is sick and we know how to work efficiently.” How many churches and community organizations would be attracted to such an offer?
This is an example of what can and should happen in Christian friendship groups, Christian families and Christian marriages. They can serve with enough frequency to perfect their teamwork. And, they can last for years in service together for God. Plus, if people move away, the two left in the friendship group can bring another into their fold and indoctrinate the new person into how they work harmoniously. Over time families will shrink to only marriages, but in the meantime everything the children learn about harmonious teamwork will benefit them for the rest of their lives.
This long-term harmonious behavior is not new. An extended family getting together for Thanksgiving every year has each woman making her specialty for the holiday meal. This goes on year after year. In the same way, men who regularly go hunting each do their special part of preparing for each outing year after year.
How Used in Battle to Defeat Evil and Satan
Ernie and Pat have been married long enough to know that dissension between them ruins the harmony they need in order to serve God. Thus, they have agreed to not be in competition with each other, to do all they can to not win arguments but instead come up with solutions, and to keep in mind the many qualities possessed by each of them in their “team”. This has taken resolve and dedication, but after twenty years of marriage they are a pretty harmonious couple. Most people think of them as the team of Ernie and Pat.
As is usual for him, Satan has brought trouble into Ernie and Pat’s family. But, each time a child has given them something difficult to deal with, they have drawn on each other’s strengths and brought the love of God and His solutions to bear. When Pat’s mother could no longer take care of herself independently, Ernie and Pat worked together to take care of her needs and eventually make some very difficult decisions. And when two neighbors had a serious conflict, Ernie and Pat helped them resolve their dispute. Each time Ernie and Pat have to get involved as a team, there seems to be a different combination of skills and attitudes needed from previous situations. But they work together in these different ways as if they are singing a new song from their storehouse of musical scores. |
Satan is the “Disharmonizer”. He hates harmony in the people of God. We can be more powerful than the devil, but only with harmony. Two or more Christians have to not only be “on the same page”, but they need to work together smoothly.
Since the very beginning in the Garden of Eden the devil has been dividing believers and enticing them to autonomy. Remember, he spoke only to Eve and offered her harmful things God did not want for her. All along it has been the evil one’s strategy to disrupt the harmony of obeying and serving God together.
We must fight Satan’s efforts to bring disharmony to the church in all of its essential patterns. Here we will only focus on the devil’s various ways to throw off God’s perfect harmony in Christian friendships, Christian families, and Christian marriages.
We cannot let ourselves think that we only need harmony in our service for God in our organizational churches. That will cut off thousands of songs, so-to-speak. They need to be sung for God’s glory in the many opportunities to serve God harmoniously in our daily lives through our Christian friendships, our Christian families and our Christian marriages.
Since the very beginning in the Garden of Eden the devil has been dividing believers and enticing them to autonomy. Remember, he spoke only to Eve and offered her harmful things God did not want for her. All along it has been the evil one’s strategy to disrupt the harmony of obeying and serving God together.
We must fight Satan’s efforts to bring disharmony to the church in all of its essential patterns. Here we will only focus on the devil’s various ways to throw off God’s perfect harmony in Christian friendships, Christian families, and Christian marriages.
We cannot let ourselves think that we only need harmony in our service for God in our organizational churches. That will cut off thousands of songs, so-to-speak. They need to be sung for God’s glory in the many opportunities to serve God harmoniously in our daily lives through our Christian friendships, our Christian families and our Christian marriages.
Glorify the Lord with me: let us exalt his name together.
Ps 34:3
Ps 34:3
We must develop conviction that our friendships are spiritual forces in God’s hands. Whenever Christian friends are together, Jesus probably wants something to happen that requires harmony. Whatever it is, it will need the basic elements of harmony: collaboration, coordination, cooperation, and synergy. We know a little of what this is like when we work together to throw a birthday lunch for someone in one of our friendship groups.
Satan does not want us to get a vision of what friendships of two or three, maybe a few more, can do if they harmonize their prayers, thoughts, feelings, talents and actions. And, so, the devil tries to keep our focus almost purely on individual faith and spiritual growth. He may even encourage our singing – if we do it alone in the shower.
Individual faith and spiritual growth exists to fit harmoniously with the individual faith and spiritual growth in others to glorify God. The kingdom citizen is to enhance not himself, but the kingdom. For the King.
Therefore, the devil does not want us to seek to serve God together as brought to mind by the Holy Spirit. But, we know that there are things to be done together that are very important for the work of God, tasks that will both serve people and glorify our Lord. Then, once we get that in our heads, Satan will do all he can to keep us from being able to work together in harmony. He will try to keep us from accepting that we each have just a piece of the whole. He will try to prevent us from that joy which comes from accomplishing something as a team for God. He will do all he can to get us each to want to be the main person on a team or just the opposite to not be expected to do our part. Neither pride nor lack of self-worth benefits harmony, and Satan will work those angles to prevent glorious togetherness for God.
Let’s all think, “What does God want my friendship group to do together for Him? How can we each complement one another to develop that harmony that is like our own particular song for the Lord at this time and place?”
Similarly, without conviction that our families are 24/7 tools in God’s hands, we may never seriously consider the powerful things that can be done by more than parental involvement. As two parents can encourage excellent accomplishment in school and work more than just one parent, two parents plus all the kids can magnify that encouragement. But only to the extent that everyone works together harmoniously.
For example, it will not work so well if one or two parents encourage a child to put more effort into learning American history if an older sibling privately declares that there is no practical advantage to knowing history. That is not harmony. However, if that older brother or sister said that they don’t see any advantage in knowing American history but that it is important to learn it well to get into a good college, it can still become harmonious encouragement, however less ideal.
Without conviction that our marriages are to be “until-death-do-us-part ministry teams”, harmony will not enter a husband’s or a wife’s mind for more than simple tasks like cooking and cleaning. Once a marriage becomes aware of its power to do good in each others’ lives as well as in the world around them, harmony will be very useful. One huge challenge to harmony that marriages often have to meet is admitting mistakes to each other, being willing to be helped to change, and helping without judgment or power plays.
Briefly, here are some of the things Satan can use to disrupt harmony and keep our friendships, families and marriages from serving God in power.
Satan wants us to forget or at least just give lip-service to Jesus being a part of our teams in our friendships, families, and marriages. We must remember that Jesus is always there waiting to lead and then be included in the teamwork.
There is nothing like competition among believers to interrupt cooperation. Think of two basketball players fighting over getting the ball to shoot. Harmonious, well-designed plays go out the window. Instead, wise basketball players do not compete with other members of their team while playing a game. They compete with the opposing team. In our case, the opposing team is the dark spirit world with its principalities and powers under the direction of Satan.
The successful basketball team utilizes every member’s best skills to score points. The player who brings the ball down the court works harmoniously with the player who sets a screen and the ones who usually shoot the ball because they are best at getting the ball through the hoop. Satan wants us to put values on only some contributions so as to get believers competing rather than cooperating to disrupt God’s inspired pattern (synergy).
The devil will also try his best to keep the parts of a team from forming. Harmony in a band is hard without, say, a drummer. We must be aware that everyone in a friendship, everyone in a family, and both in a marriage are essential for the harmony that serves God best.
It is difficult to create maximum harmony if we are not aware of everyone’s potential contributions. Not knowing what people have to offer usually gets in the way of those talents being used. Friendships, families and marriages should take careful stock of what they have in the way of strengths, as they do of the food in their pantries. They need to be aware of what they have for the next call from God to service, just as they need to know what food is available to make dinner.
It takes a bit of hard work and patience during the necessary discomfort of building harmony in a team. Satan does all he can to make us resistant to commitment. Without it, Christians will not work together long enough to become a well-oiled team. And, without commitment, Christians will disband teams that have become good at working together.
Of course, there are a lot of other ways that our enemy can keep us from living harmoniously with one another and helping one another grow in our faith, glorify God, and help others. Let’s not underestimate the power of harmony in our closest relationships where we can be used by God so often and so powerfully.
How in the Sinful Environment this Together Prepares Us for Heaven
Satan does not want us to get a vision of what friendships of two or three, maybe a few more, can do if they harmonize their prayers, thoughts, feelings, talents and actions. And, so, the devil tries to keep our focus almost purely on individual faith and spiritual growth. He may even encourage our singing – if we do it alone in the shower.
Individual faith and spiritual growth exists to fit harmoniously with the individual faith and spiritual growth in others to glorify God. The kingdom citizen is to enhance not himself, but the kingdom. For the King.
Therefore, the devil does not want us to seek to serve God together as brought to mind by the Holy Spirit. But, we know that there are things to be done together that are very important for the work of God, tasks that will both serve people and glorify our Lord. Then, once we get that in our heads, Satan will do all he can to keep us from being able to work together in harmony. He will try to keep us from accepting that we each have just a piece of the whole. He will try to prevent us from that joy which comes from accomplishing something as a team for God. He will do all he can to get us each to want to be the main person on a team or just the opposite to not be expected to do our part. Neither pride nor lack of self-worth benefits harmony, and Satan will work those angles to prevent glorious togetherness for God.
Let’s all think, “What does God want my friendship group to do together for Him? How can we each complement one another to develop that harmony that is like our own particular song for the Lord at this time and place?”
Similarly, without conviction that our families are 24/7 tools in God’s hands, we may never seriously consider the powerful things that can be done by more than parental involvement. As two parents can encourage excellent accomplishment in school and work more than just one parent, two parents plus all the kids can magnify that encouragement. But only to the extent that everyone works together harmoniously.
For example, it will not work so well if one or two parents encourage a child to put more effort into learning American history if an older sibling privately declares that there is no practical advantage to knowing history. That is not harmony. However, if that older brother or sister said that they don’t see any advantage in knowing American history but that it is important to learn it well to get into a good college, it can still become harmonious encouragement, however less ideal.
Without conviction that our marriages are to be “until-death-do-us-part ministry teams”, harmony will not enter a husband’s or a wife’s mind for more than simple tasks like cooking and cleaning. Once a marriage becomes aware of its power to do good in each others’ lives as well as in the world around them, harmony will be very useful. One huge challenge to harmony that marriages often have to meet is admitting mistakes to each other, being willing to be helped to change, and helping without judgment or power plays.
Briefly, here are some of the things Satan can use to disrupt harmony and keep our friendships, families and marriages from serving God in power.
Satan wants us to forget or at least just give lip-service to Jesus being a part of our teams in our friendships, families, and marriages. We must remember that Jesus is always there waiting to lead and then be included in the teamwork.
There is nothing like competition among believers to interrupt cooperation. Think of two basketball players fighting over getting the ball to shoot. Harmonious, well-designed plays go out the window. Instead, wise basketball players do not compete with other members of their team while playing a game. They compete with the opposing team. In our case, the opposing team is the dark spirit world with its principalities and powers under the direction of Satan.
The successful basketball team utilizes every member’s best skills to score points. The player who brings the ball down the court works harmoniously with the player who sets a screen and the ones who usually shoot the ball because they are best at getting the ball through the hoop. Satan wants us to put values on only some contributions so as to get believers competing rather than cooperating to disrupt God’s inspired pattern (synergy).
The devil will also try his best to keep the parts of a team from forming. Harmony in a band is hard without, say, a drummer. We must be aware that everyone in a friendship, everyone in a family, and both in a marriage are essential for the harmony that serves God best.
It is difficult to create maximum harmony if we are not aware of everyone’s potential contributions. Not knowing what people have to offer usually gets in the way of those talents being used. Friendships, families and marriages should take careful stock of what they have in the way of strengths, as they do of the food in their pantries. They need to be aware of what they have for the next call from God to service, just as they need to know what food is available to make dinner.
It takes a bit of hard work and patience during the necessary discomfort of building harmony in a team. Satan does all he can to make us resistant to commitment. Without it, Christians will not work together long enough to become a well-oiled team. And, without commitment, Christians will disband teams that have become good at working together.
Of course, there are a lot of other ways that our enemy can keep us from living harmoniously with one another and helping one another grow in our faith, glorify God, and help others. Let’s not underestimate the power of harmony in our closest relationships where we can be used by God so often and so powerfully.
How in the Sinful Environment this Together Prepares Us for Heaven
Because they de-emphasize individualistic Christianity, the people of Central Church think in terms of teams. Each church leader takes responsibility to help ten church members know what they have to offer God in the way of talents, spiritual gifts and past life experiences. Then they form church members into Action Teams. Some teams are for the regular work of the church such as teaching Sunday school, operating the sound system, leading worship, etc. But, teams are also put together for occasional needs. For example, there is a team for making simple home repairs for financially strapped church members or other needy people known by church members. There is another team for helping a family or individual develop a budget. The teams might be called into action only a couple of times a year, but each team is made up of a harmony of needed talents appropriate to the purpose of the team.
Harmonizing with each other in the work of the Lord is uppermost in the thinking of Central Church. Individual glory is seen as inferior. And so they are continually pointing out each other's strengths and value to ministry. Teams go about their work in harmony like well-tuned chamber string quartets. Living together and working for God in harmony with each other is a thrill the people of Central Church would not give up. But, it is more than that. The members of Central Church are being prepared for heaven where such harmony is everywhere. And, team members know this. It only intensifies their excitement to get to heaven. |
Since we will all live together in harmony in heaven, it only makes sense to prepare by doing so now. Keeping with the theory that we will enter heaven with skills at the level developed on earth with the harassment of sin, let’s pay attention to developing great skills in working together harmoniously now with fluid synergy.
First of all, we can get ready for the harmony in heaven by including Jesus into our gatherings in more than as a doctrine or concept. We can actually grow in our awareness of His personal presence with us whenever we are with a friend, a family member, or our spouse. Jesus is invisible, yet really present. It will be just as hard treating Jesus as He is present as it is being aware of breathing air. It will take some work.
Perhaps we can learn from older people with plastic tubes delivering oxygen to their noses. They know what it is like to know when enough air is present or not. I imagine that these folks grew in their awareness of shortness of breath just as we can grow in our consciousness that Jesus is with us. So, we should give it a try. Maybe we need to put a note on our mirror saying, “Jesus is here” to remind us when we start our days. Do we need other postings here and there to bring our consciousness to spiritual awareness? Eventually, we would look at such notes and say to ourselves, “I know that!”, and take them down.
We can also grow in skills necessary for harmony now and later in heaven by learning to not be competitive with others in Christian service. This starts by being aware that we each have our own parts to play in the harmonious work of God when we are in our friendship groups, our families or our marriages. We can learn our strengths from the assessments of other Christians who know us well as well as from self-examination in light of past accomplishments.
Then, as a next step in preparing to not be competitive and usher in collaboration and cooperation, we need to get to know the strengths of others in each of our Christian friendship groups, in our Christian families, and in our Christian marriages. It is probably best to do this together with them.
We can put the finishing touches on non-competitiveness by taking on assignments from God in our Christian Inner Circle relationships and bringing everyone in on the action with their unique contributions. Whether we are helping one another grow spiritually, helping one another succeed in life, worshiping God, or helping others outside of our Christian Inner Circles, each new opportunity will require a different synergism of working together for God’s good. Each accomplishment will give us more ability to start off heaven with a higher level of harmony, avoiding the delay in learning those skills there.
Then there is the ability to remember that God can usually be better served and glorified by a team than by individual effort. When we each see someone in need, we can grow in our ability to think of how others can be brought in to help. Perhaps a brother-in-law becomes unemployed. The first thought will likely be how we can help him by our own individual effort. But, soon after, when we cannot get him a job right away, we want to think of how a particular friendship group can be of greater help.
Anything that can build more harmony in the Christian groupings we frequent will be useful in getting ready for heaven. If we ignore these opportunities, we will get them in heaven. But it will be like limping into heaven with respect to harmony when we could have grown beforehand and entered heaven running. And, then there is the permanent loss that will come in some ways from not having taken God seriously in his command to live together in harmony.
How this Together Can Make it Really Good in Heaven
First of all, we can get ready for the harmony in heaven by including Jesus into our gatherings in more than as a doctrine or concept. We can actually grow in our awareness of His personal presence with us whenever we are with a friend, a family member, or our spouse. Jesus is invisible, yet really present. It will be just as hard treating Jesus as He is present as it is being aware of breathing air. It will take some work.
Perhaps we can learn from older people with plastic tubes delivering oxygen to their noses. They know what it is like to know when enough air is present or not. I imagine that these folks grew in their awareness of shortness of breath just as we can grow in our consciousness that Jesus is with us. So, we should give it a try. Maybe we need to put a note on our mirror saying, “Jesus is here” to remind us when we start our days. Do we need other postings here and there to bring our consciousness to spiritual awareness? Eventually, we would look at such notes and say to ourselves, “I know that!”, and take them down.
We can also grow in skills necessary for harmony now and later in heaven by learning to not be competitive with others in Christian service. This starts by being aware that we each have our own parts to play in the harmonious work of God when we are in our friendship groups, our families or our marriages. We can learn our strengths from the assessments of other Christians who know us well as well as from self-examination in light of past accomplishments.
Then, as a next step in preparing to not be competitive and usher in collaboration and cooperation, we need to get to know the strengths of others in each of our Christian friendship groups, in our Christian families, and in our Christian marriages. It is probably best to do this together with them.
We can put the finishing touches on non-competitiveness by taking on assignments from God in our Christian Inner Circle relationships and bringing everyone in on the action with their unique contributions. Whether we are helping one another grow spiritually, helping one another succeed in life, worshiping God, or helping others outside of our Christian Inner Circles, each new opportunity will require a different synergism of working together for God’s good. Each accomplishment will give us more ability to start off heaven with a higher level of harmony, avoiding the delay in learning those skills there.
Then there is the ability to remember that God can usually be better served and glorified by a team than by individual effort. When we each see someone in need, we can grow in our ability to think of how others can be brought in to help. Perhaps a brother-in-law becomes unemployed. The first thought will likely be how we can help him by our own individual effort. But, soon after, when we cannot get him a job right away, we want to think of how a particular friendship group can be of greater help.
Anything that can build more harmony in the Christian groupings we frequent will be useful in getting ready for heaven. If we ignore these opportunities, we will get them in heaven. But it will be like limping into heaven with respect to harmony when we could have grown beforehand and entered heaven running. And, then there is the permanent loss that will come in some ways from not having taken God seriously in his command to live together in harmony.
How this Together Can Make it Really Good in Heaven
Back before death, Leo worked hard to get each of the groups in his Christian Inner Circle to be fine-tuned in serving God. There was his Christian friendship group at his job that Leo got to work together to bring Jesus and his way of living to their secular workplace. Then there was the group of Christian men who fished together in the local lakes. Leo got these men working so harmoniously to get preparatory tasks done that guest non-believers were amazed. Over the years ten of them accepted Christ as their Savior. Leo had two more groups of Christian friends that learned to live harmoniously and do service projects to honor God from time to time.
Add to that Leo’s family where he exercised his leadership in getting wife and children to be open to and use one another’s strengths so that life situations were handled with great togetherness. After the kids grew up and left home, they still leaned on one another’s contributions to solve problems. Leo had built interdependent love in his family so they could live in harmony as God requested. Leo also did this with his marriage. So, when Leo arrived in heaven, he felt right at home. Everybody lived in harmony, going about God’s work seamlessly. But, Leo understood that harmony was not just the way of heaven. It was a very special way to love God and give Him what He wanted. |
Sometimes people say that the way to appreciate something is to be without it. However, we have to know what it is first for this to work. In the case of harmony when we are in heaven, will we be able to look back at how special it was to work together when sin challenged us at every point? Will that backward glance greatly increase our appreciation of the “natural harmony” in heaven?
It seems that when we get to heaven and experience everyone working together so harmoniously, we can have great appreciation for it because we are familiar with it already, or we can be in a fog about it due to its unfamiliarity, no matter how good it is.
Perhaps childhood can give us a peek at this phenomenon. Let’s say that we grew up eating a certain candy bar. We loved it, but then were introduced to an even better chocolate. Would that make us more likely to try better and better candy in adulthood? If we did not have the childhood opportunity to try new things, it could hold us back from trying new things as adults. In fact, for some of us, we cannot really understand how other people want to leave what they are familiar with to go on to other things. Being familiar with harmony when we get to heaven, will we be hungry for even more harmony?
So, imagine that in heaven, however the will of our Lord Jesus comes to us there, we have already learned to get right on task with others who have the complementary skills needed. To add a little humor, let’s imagine that in heaven when Jesus has something for us to do, a little bird whispers it in our ear. (Ever heard of that being said, even though now it does not really happen?) Not having developed the natural tendency toward synergistic harmony to glorify God before coming to heaven, one might smile at the bird’s message and keep sitting on the bed wondering what comes next.
But, what if we came to heaven with our feet prepared to run because we had let the Holy Spirit teach us the basics of living in harmony with others in our closest Christian relationships? The little bird comes and lets us know what Jesus wants done and we get up immediately and search for the other team members that the Lord is gathering for the harmony the task requires. Just as getting together one evening to put together a new song would be incredibly exciting, so will creating new harmonies in heaven.
Let’s enjoy heaven a little bit more than otherwise by seeking opportunities this side of death to learn to live together in harmony. Let’s bring the music of harmony in the service of God gained now to add to those greater songs of service in heaven.
Opportunity for a Closer Relationship with God through Empathy
It seems that when we get to heaven and experience everyone working together so harmoniously, we can have great appreciation for it because we are familiar with it already, or we can be in a fog about it due to its unfamiliarity, no matter how good it is.
Perhaps childhood can give us a peek at this phenomenon. Let’s say that we grew up eating a certain candy bar. We loved it, but then were introduced to an even better chocolate. Would that make us more likely to try better and better candy in adulthood? If we did not have the childhood opportunity to try new things, it could hold us back from trying new things as adults. In fact, for some of us, we cannot really understand how other people want to leave what they are familiar with to go on to other things. Being familiar with harmony when we get to heaven, will we be hungry for even more harmony?
So, imagine that in heaven, however the will of our Lord Jesus comes to us there, we have already learned to get right on task with others who have the complementary skills needed. To add a little humor, let’s imagine that in heaven when Jesus has something for us to do, a little bird whispers it in our ear. (Ever heard of that being said, even though now it does not really happen?) Not having developed the natural tendency toward synergistic harmony to glorify God before coming to heaven, one might smile at the bird’s message and keep sitting on the bed wondering what comes next.
But, what if we came to heaven with our feet prepared to run because we had let the Holy Spirit teach us the basics of living in harmony with others in our closest Christian relationships? The little bird comes and lets us know what Jesus wants done and we get up immediately and search for the other team members that the Lord is gathering for the harmony the task requires. Just as getting together one evening to put together a new song would be incredibly exciting, so will creating new harmonies in heaven.
Let’s enjoy heaven a little bit more than otherwise by seeking opportunities this side of death to learn to live together in harmony. Let’s bring the music of harmony in the service of God gained now to add to those greater songs of service in heaven.
Opportunity for a Closer Relationship with God through Empathy
Jesus visits me occasionally and we enjoy recounting those times when I worked in harmony with others, each of us doing our part to do whatever Jesus wanted back there in the sinful culture. Jesus always says how the Father appreciated me and my friends, as well as my family and husband, living His way and making Him proud of us.
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Do we only imagine Jesus visiting with us in heaven in conversation? Why would it not be in action there? Just because there is no sin does not mean that there will be no opportunities to serve and glorify God. Just sitting on a low-hanging cloud in heaven (joke) will not carry much glory to the Father.
Jesus may not be so invisible when He actually joins us in heaven in doing something to magnify God. We want to fully appreciate the harmony that Jesus completes when He shows up, just as we want to do so now. Imagine how more personal such fellowships will be if we get ourselves ready for them now.
Have you ever been on a team with someone who was very special to you? During the task, have you ever glanced at that person and felt the tinge of joyful connection it brings? My wife Jean and I do that all the time. And, I want that with the Lord in heaven, those special glances that come from harmony and signify a special appreciation for being together and working together to make something good happen.
Praise and Prayer Regarding this Together
Holy God in your harmonious Trinity, I thank You for harmony in the limited way that I understand and experience it. I open myself for the Holy Spirit to lead me into greater and greater harmony with Yourself and with other Christians.
I and those in my Christian Inner Circle will need Your help to grow our spirits to get beyond individualistic thinking and more often consider doing things You want done in harmony with other Christians. Help us to yield to the work of the Holy Spirit for all of us to give You more glory by each playing his or her part in creating a song of obedience and service with such harmony that it is beautiful in Your sight.
Please help us all to become more like Jesus and faithfully do our part with others as He does with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus did not do everything when He fed the hungry multitudes on the two different occasions, so help me and those in my Christian Inner Circle to not always try to do things for You alone. As did Jesus when He asked His disciples to find what food was available and to pick up the leftovers, guide us to involve others in Your work. And, may we each offer our contribution in harmony with the others.
May our lives worship You more because by imitation we reflect to You that perfect harmony and teamwork of Your three personalities of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Please help us understand that every opportunity to do something for you on a team or committee is an opportunity to worship You through harmony.
Make us strong in Your power to defeat the devil by being our strongest by acting in harmony with one another. Most often, alone we are more vulnerable to Satan’s attacks. Therefore, move us to be more knit together in harmonious faith, remembering that even just two of us and Jesus is much stronger than the devil and his evil.
Help us all to prepare for heaven by growing more completely to experience the power and great joy of working together in harmony to glorify You and do Your will. As this will be standard practice in heaven, we want to go there already accomplished in living together in harmony.
Jesus may not be so invisible when He actually joins us in heaven in doing something to magnify God. We want to fully appreciate the harmony that Jesus completes when He shows up, just as we want to do so now. Imagine how more personal such fellowships will be if we get ourselves ready for them now.
Have you ever been on a team with someone who was very special to you? During the task, have you ever glanced at that person and felt the tinge of joyful connection it brings? My wife Jean and I do that all the time. And, I want that with the Lord in heaven, those special glances that come from harmony and signify a special appreciation for being together and working together to make something good happen.
Praise and Prayer Regarding this Together
Holy God in your harmonious Trinity, I thank You for harmony in the limited way that I understand and experience it. I open myself for the Holy Spirit to lead me into greater and greater harmony with Yourself and with other Christians.
I and those in my Christian Inner Circle will need Your help to grow our spirits to get beyond individualistic thinking and more often consider doing things You want done in harmony with other Christians. Help us to yield to the work of the Holy Spirit for all of us to give You more glory by each playing his or her part in creating a song of obedience and service with such harmony that it is beautiful in Your sight.
Please help us all to become more like Jesus and faithfully do our part with others as He does with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus did not do everything when He fed the hungry multitudes on the two different occasions, so help me and those in my Christian Inner Circle to not always try to do things for You alone. As did Jesus when He asked His disciples to find what food was available and to pick up the leftovers, guide us to involve others in Your work. And, may we each offer our contribution in harmony with the others.
May our lives worship You more because by imitation we reflect to You that perfect harmony and teamwork of Your three personalities of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Please help us understand that every opportunity to do something for you on a team or committee is an opportunity to worship You through harmony.
Make us strong in Your power to defeat the devil by being our strongest by acting in harmony with one another. Most often, alone we are more vulnerable to Satan’s attacks. Therefore, move us to be more knit together in harmonious faith, remembering that even just two of us and Jesus is much stronger than the devil and his evil.
Help us all to prepare for heaven by growing more completely to experience the power and great joy of working together in harmony to glorify You and do Your will. As this will be standard practice in heaven, we want to go there already accomplished in living together in harmony.
Ever increasing practice of the Togethers of Scripture will (1) create in you the loving essence of Jesus, (2) give Jesus the kind of love He requested, (3) provide you with the most significant spiritual lifestyle which is attainable only through Christian community, (4) offer significant worship to God by reflecting his own character back to him through your behavior, and (5) bring God’s kingdom to earth as asked for in the Lord’s Prayer. And for heaven, such growing obedience to Scripture now will later (6) qualify you for a more responsible place of service as reward in heaven, and, (7) most important of all, give you greater empathy with God for a closer relationship with Him for all of eternity.