“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” — Colossians 3:12-14
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At the Last Supper, Jesus gave His disciples a new command: “…Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). Jesus is talking about “agape” love, or unconditional love, described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…”
It’s not the conflict that breaks up teams, friendships and relationships, it is how we treat each other and make each other feel as we strive for resolution. Did you know there are more than 30 “one another” verses in the Bible? Below are just three of them that can help us understand what it takes to build and maintain real unity:
“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” — 1 John 4:11
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” — Romans 15:7
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” — Ephesians 4:32
Loving, accepting and forgiving each other are hallmarks of unity in teams, relationships and the Church. If our impact is diluted or we experience disunity in these areas, we should look at how well we are living out these fundamental attitudes toward one another and the world.
— Jerry Birch, Cleveland Cavaliers chaplain
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