By Philip Pfanstiel
December 20, 2020
“May they be one, even as you and I are one.” – This is how I remember the verse.
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” – John 17:21 KJV
Unity? What does it mean? It seems to suggest “universal, united, no disagreements, conformity, peace, and no conflict.”
But what if, here’s me being my contrarian self, it means the opposite … nationalist, divided, arguments, non-conformity, friction, and conflicts?
Or, like a good healthy argument with friends the truth may be somewhere in the middle … but I’m going to argue the extreme because it’s more fun and contrasty.
My religious upbringing was diverse and has continued in this vein throughout my life. I grew up nondenominational Charismatic with a strong dose of the “Faith movement” in Tulsa, Oklahoma sprinkled in. I was raised by a former Presbyterian and a former Lutheran who came to Christ in the Jesus movement of the early 70s. Attended a Baptist youth group and fundamentalist homeschooling program for years. I was married (17 years) to a Methodist (where all our children were baptized) who converted to Catholicism – so I’m familiar with the structures of Methodism and Catholicism. I’ve been to Islamic mosques, Jewish synagogues and Hindu temples as a visitor.
We tend to default to how we were raised so I’m most comfortable in a nondenominational church (as long as the sermon is under two hours) with fog machines, loud music, energetic sermons and lots of tongue … praying in tongues that is. We don’t play that game … make room for the Holy Spirit is part of our statement of faith.
I’m always intrigued by the chasm in between well meaning, earnest and learned men and women. For instance, is communion merely symbolic or actually the blood and body of Jesus? Is salvation by faith alone, or do we have to work for it? Which church is the “right” one? Baptism is it infant, adult, near drowing or by water gun?
The answer I’ve come to is a “Yes, AND …” Could they BOTH be right? Or ALL be right (it’s rarely just two positions).
Going sideways for a second like any good rabbit trail …
Organic, living things seem to focus on internal structures (DNA, cells) and mechanisms (homeostasis, photo and protein synthesis, systems, etc.…) and these structures and mechanisms provide remarkable consistency for the incredibly diverse, complicated and resilient living organisms on our planet.
Whether it is humans, birds, trees or mushrooms the internal structure (DNA, cells, etc…) is solid but the resulting external expression is VERY diverse.
In comparison artificial, manufactured things focus on external conformity.
One of the more legalistic organizations I was in, loved everyone to look “right.” Clean shaven men in suits, long haired women in dresses. I heard this joke from this group numerous times, “man looks on the outside, but God looks on the heart … BUT MAN LOOKS ON THE OUTSIDE” (so focus on appearance because mankind is watching).
BTW I learned A TON and was blessed by my time and exposure to much of the organizations teachings and principles – it also gave me the first opportunity to “eat the hay and spit out the sticks.” I had to develop discernment and test ideas. This is not a critique or a rejection of everything they taught me, more of an observation about an area where I think they missed it.
Internal character and motivation (beneath the façade) is assumed to be there because everyone “looks” right so they MUST be right.
This control over the external I’ve seen manifested in a hundred different preferences; music, tattoos, culture, hair, dress, language, etc.…
That’s why the Word from God that Pastor Paul Brady shared hit home with me, “Don’t let your preferences become an enemy to me.” Eureka moment.
God looks on the inside. In fact, that is what He really cares about (I Samuel 16:7). The external will be the fruit of the internal but what that looks like is a co-creating process between each of us and the Holy Spirit inside of us. In other words, we’re going to look different. Behave different. Have different tastes and preferences.
And God likes it that way.
Cults have always fascinated me. I don’t think I was in one, but it got pretty close (“you don’t know you’re deceived, until you’re not” – RSL 1984, Newsboys). Cults, like tumors, take healthy processes too far.
Cancer cells take mitosis and kick it into overdrive. Cults take preferences and hook them up to gallons of shame, control and condemnation. And while the growth seems healthy, the ensuing rot and death … not so much.
Returning to nature, there is despite, or maybe because of this diversity, a unique unity that expresses itself. If you ever watch a flight of geese, a flock in the thousands of starlings or a school of sardines there is something mesmerizing about the order that arises from what should be utter chaos.
Similarly snowflakes, trees and flowers all have internal conformity but the physical expression of each is unique.
Meanwhile in our modern world we’ve embraced the uniformity that mechanization provides and our focus on the external (saying the right things, virtue signaling [which has been going on since the days of Puritans], or presenting the proper façade). Could this focus on the external be conditioning us for the one world government – the largest cult the world will ever know?
Cult, BTW, is short for life (CULTure) … It’s a truncated version of life that leaves off “ure … you are.” God is I am. He has created us in His image … we are. The expression of our uniqueness is not an inconvenience but an essential part of our design and purpose. Admittedly this is a play on words and spelling but … I have no editor so I’m leaving it in (me just being me).
In my life as a parent, divorce forced me into a situation where I couldn’t control my kids. Still can’t. Logistically, I am and will always be part of their lives but I can’t micromanage them. All I can do is lead by example (including repenting and making things right when I fail), train and impart when we’re together and release them to walk things out while always being there in prayer and to help as needed.
The irony is that I NEVER could control them (though I thought if I tried hard enough I could ensure the “right” outcome). In fact the 15 years of marriage with kids (we were married two years before our oldest was born) I thought I could and the resulting frustration, anger, and lack of contentment contributed to the failure of the marriage.
This is what I’ve learned over this process.
- What if we focus on the internal and let the external be what it is?
- If we focused on loving Jesus, loving our kids, loving others and less about the result? Isn’t that God’s job?
- If we focus more on what God sees and considers valuable and less on what we think makes us look good?
- What if we allow the Holy Spirit’s unique work in each of us freedom to operate?
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1 (ESV)
I’m a terrible salesmen. Or at least a terrible “Hard Seller.” As a teacher all I do is “Soft Sell” ideas, concepts, advice, approaches, truths and a love of learning. The difference between these two is fascinating. Hard Sell is what pushy salesmen, telemarketers, scammers and the like will do to get you to buy NOW. The problem is that these rushed or forced decisions usually lead to buyer’s remorse, regrets and a terrible taste toward that business or person. This is one of my gripes with using Hell to sell the gospel (see Killing Hell).
It is my opinion that Jesus was a Soft Sell. He didn’t lie or bury the lead but he didn’t pressure people. He’d call, invite, teach and lead … but the freedom, option was there for them to follow, not follow, ghost him or even resist. The interesting thing is 11 of the 12 disciples (John being the only one to die of old age) went to their death as martyrs instead of forsaking the Truth they embraced. While it takes longer to embrace a soft sell, once embraced a soft sell is rarely forsaken or regretted. Chuck Colson cited this phenomenon as something that led him to Christ. You don’t die for a lie or a hard sell.
Paper beats rock and in nature we see all the time how plants reduce and reclaim man’s best creations. I took this picture on a hike with my kids a few years back and have thought of it often. Living organisms really do find a way to move from internal to the external with power. I could try to “make” this happen and fail 100% of the time. But a random seed found a way to plant its roots deep and bloom on top of a boulder because its “heart” (internal working) was strong.
Might I suggest that we embrace the Holy Spirit’s work (soft sell) in our own lives, no matter how that looks to others (this will make us look odd, but should we draw back? Hebrews 10:38-39). Then we release others to do the same.
I’ve noticed the people most insistent on how you should live your life, are the ones not walking in their own calling or purpose. Projection much?
Now as per our children, we do need to train them, have expectations and the like, but there comes a time when we must release them into God’s hands for His Spirit to guide, grow and utilize them. I’ll let you know how to do that once I figure it out. But I know what the goal is.
The amazing creative beauty of a redeemed world will bring a unity of creation – as long as we don’t force it. The next time you watch a flock of birds or school of fish, remember that as long as each life is internally directed there is an ethereal symmetry that comes out of that chaos. And in life there is something transcendent (beyond the individual organism) that manifests itself in this unity BECAUSE of each one’s external nonconformity.
So the next time you’re tempted to enforce some external idea on yourself or others remember that God looks on the inside. GOD LOOKS ON THE INSIDE. And THAT is what matters.