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God has a goal for all of us who are disciples of Jesus.

Jesus wants us to live in unity.

Jesus wants us to have one heart — one mind!

The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind — just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so they might be one heart and mind with us. ~Jesus | John 17:21

The secret to unity begins with how I view myself within the body of Jesus the Messiah and how I view others.

The key verse that addresses this is Philippians 2:3: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”

All disunity in a called-out assembly of disciples  (aka church) can be traced back to the simple truth that too often we act selfishly and consider ourselves better than others.

Paul goes on to explain further in the following verse: “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Unity

Sadly, called-out assembly of disciples (aka church) that experience disunity and are in conflict and turmoil are generally filled with people looking to their own needs, their own desires, and their own ambitions. Such behavior is characteristic of unbelievers, not those with the mind of the Messiah.

Worldliness, not godliness, is the hallmark of the disunified called-out assembly of disciples  (aka church), as Paul reminded the Corinthians: “For you are yet carnal. For in that there is among you envying’s and strife and divisions, are you not carnal, and do you not walk according to men?” (1 Corinthians 3:3).

But Paul tells us that we are to consider others’ needs before our own. In all modesty, humility and lowliness of mind, we are to “be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2).

A called-out assembly of disciples  (aka church) filled with such people cannot help but have peace, unity and harmony. The truly humble person sees his own faults in light of the perfections of the Messiah; he does not seek to see the faults of others, but when he does, he speaks the truth in love and desires their sanctification so they will be built up in the image of the Messiah.

A disciple of Jesus sees his own heart and the corruption that lies hidden there, along with impure motives and evil ambitions. But he does not seek to notice the errors, defects, and follies of others. He sees the depravity of his own heart and hopes charitably in the goodness of others and believes their hearts are more pure than his.

God is in a good mood and wants us to have one heart and mind with fellow disciples.