“Two are better than one, because they have good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion, but woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
The Japanese are renowned as the best sword makers in the world. To create these fine weapons, ancient Japanese sword makers had to create a sword that was hard enough to retain a sharp edge, but at the same time soft enough not to be brittle. Sword makers who made swords by making the steel hard found they could preserve a sharp edge. Such swords, however, were often so brittle that they would often break when they clashed in battle. Soft steel, however, was found to be not as brittle, but would easily dull and be unable to slice through armor. Japanese sword makers therefore had to forge a sword with steel hard enough to retain a sharp edge, but at the same time pliable enough not to break in battle. What Japanese sword makers learned to do was to create a sword made of hard and soft steel. Multiple sheets of hard and soft steel are heated, folded and pummeled together over and over again. Japanese swords go through a lengthy forging process until they have up to 33,000 paper-thin laminations of hard and soft metal. Each of these layers is one hundred thousandth of an inch thick. This is all done to a very precise recipe of temperature treatment.
The body of Christ should never lose sight of the fact that we are stronger together. No matter what happens in the world, we have to strive for unity in the body. Our strength is in our Christian bond. “When we pray together and work together in fellowship, there is a strengthening bond that forms. There is strength in numbers.”
Like a Japanese sword, we are forged with the spiritual strength to influence the world for Christ. Together we can bring an end to racism, injustice, and oppression. When we are united in repudiating segregation and denouncing inequality, the powers that be have to buckle. As we raise our voices on behalf of the poor, the marginalized and the downtrodden, we create a seismic shift in the political, economic, and social structures of this great nation.
We cannot, and should not allow our personal preferences to undermine our God-given mission to turn this sinful world into the kingdom of God. An authentic disciple of Jesus Christ is neither a republican nor democrat, conservative nor liberal. These labels do not define our identity and can be an impediment to fulfilling our God-given purpose. What binds us together is not our race or ethnicity, or social status. Rather, it is our faith in Jesus Christ and our election as citizens of heaven.
When we all pray together and work together, nothing can stop the fellowship and unity of the Lord’s Church. Unfortunately, we often allow slick-talking false prophets and politicians to pin us against one another. In our division, we weaken our ability to do the great commission and be used by the Holy Spirit, who has anointed us to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent us to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).
Most people know about the destructive power of an avalanche. What some people do not realize is that avalanche is a mass of snow that slides rapidly down an inclined slope. The interesting thing is that snowflakes are frail, but if enough of them get together, they can cause an avalanche.
You and I have the power of an avalanche. Individually, we are like snowflakes. However, united, we are strong enough to lead a revolution or bring about meaningful reforms. The kingdom of God can only be established on earth when godly men and women come together regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or economic background. We are stronger together because if one of us falls, others will lift us, and make sure that God’s purpose is achieved in this sinful world.
Prayer- Bless Lord, please give us the wisdom to stand together as the Body of Christ, united in our faith and conviction to serve the living God.
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