“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, have the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.” Philippians 2:1-2

What does it take for you to really feel close to someone? Think of a family member or close friend for instance. Usually sharing family ties automatically instills some sort of connection, but then again, it’s common to be closer to a dear friend than a third cousin. So what creates such strong bonds in relationships? Is it shared experiences or interests? Obstacles you have faced together? Frequent quality time? Perhaps it’s because you can be raw, even brutally honest, with them. The truth is it’s a mixture of all these things. But why? Well, all of the shared history, conflict resolution, support, confidence, honesty, and quality time morphs into a unified bond.

I am sure you’ve often heard it said that in spite of all the ways to stay socially connected today, people are lonelier than ever. As Christians, we should never feel this way, yet we find ourselves in isolation as well. Why? Too often, we settle for superficial connection. Sadly, the “distant closeness” we experience through social media bleeds over into our vision of what Christian fellowship should be. We settle for a like on Facebook or a “Hi, how are you?” on Sundays, and then we think because we don’t have “active conflict” with a brother or sister that we’re unified as a body. Friends, we’re fooling ourselves. Not only that, we’re missing out on the reason Christ created the Church in the first place. True unity is not just what we want in our physical families and friendships. Unity encompasses all that Christ lived and died for His church to be. Love, humility, service, godliness, diligence, fellowship…all of these combined create true oneness in the Church.

We find in scripture that, just like your closest family or friend relationships, true unity amongst Christians does not come from never getting close enough to have conflict. It comes from overcoming problems/differences together and growing closer to one another as a result. Think for a moment about Paul’s discussions of unity in various letters to young churches. Conflict comes up a lot! Early Christians had conflict because they were genuine and personal. In a society of persecution, politics, and paganism, the early Church faced conflict on every side. The difference? They talked about it. We know even today that Christians do not all have the same personalities or opinions. This is what led and still leads to distance and often disagreement. Notice Paul never rebuked them for communicating with one another. He simply advised them to communicate in love and with the proper mindset. So, why is it that today, we settle for false peace over closeness by not communicating at all?

If you have time, read through Philippians with this idea of striving for unity in mind. While joy is mentioned later on, the purpose of Philippians is to ultimately provide a motivational dose of perspective for the Church at Philippi that will help them resolve conflict and achieve unity. In Philippians 2:1-2, Paul explains exactly what unity should look like: to be of the same mind and same love. How can we possibly achieve this without ever having deep, meaningful conversation with our brothers and sisters? Let’s break this down a little further…

1)How can we be of the same mind? Paul tells us just a few verses down in 2:5-11 that we should each adopt the mind of Christ. In other words, if all individually strive to empty themselves, becoming fully devoted servants like Jesus, we are, as a whole, of one mind and ready to get past our differences humbly and productively.

2) How can we be of the same love? Again, in 2:5-11, Paul reminds us that Christ – like love is sacrificial. He was “obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” because of His love for each soul. Our very salvation, and the church itself, is a product of His love. A love that is selfless, humble, and sacrificial can overcome any barrier between fellow Christians.

The bond that we as Christians are meant to have in Christ is stronger and more valuable than any other relationship we can have in this world. So, don’t settle for less than the real thing. To truly experience the blessings of unity, we have to break down the walls of superficial peace. Be willing to disagree, to communicate, to spend time with fellow Christians who are different than you. If we all do so with the heart and mind of Christ, the connections we build will be the closest thing to Heaven on Earth.