Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:Psalm 133:
1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, no the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!
3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.
Indeed, unity is pleasing, not just to our eyes, but to the Lord's. Because, you see, unity doesn't just happen. In fact, it's quite the opposite.
Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law" (Matthew 10:34-35).
You see, the Gospel divides. It places those who confess the true faith on one side, and those who confess something other than the true faith on the other side. It places siblings on opposite sides, one confessing Christ, and another confessing...well...something else. It places child and parent on opposite sides. It is a message that brings peace, but only to those who properly confess faith in Christ.
Which is why the psalmist writes how pleasing it is when brothers dwell in unity. Because, this is only possible by the work of the Holy Spirit, working in and through the Gospel to place a proper confession of the Gospel on the lips of sinners. Jesus Christ, who came while we were yet sinners, and who took our place on the cross, has redeemed us and all of creation, and just as he has risen from the dead, so we who have been baptized into Him (Romans 6) will also rise to eternal life.
Brothers (and sisters) who confess this together have a unity like no other--and it's a unity that will last forever! Thanks be to God. Amen.
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