Unity is one of the central characteristics of God. There is unity between the Father and the Son.

“I and my Father are one.”  (John 10:30)
 
God gives us an invitation so great that it cannot be comprehended in one lifetime, yet so simple a child can grasp it. That invitation is to come and participate in the union between the Father and the Son. The images God gives of our relationship with Him make God’s purpose perfectly clear.

He is the vine. We are the branches.

He is the groom. We are the bride.

He is the head. We are His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Our worth, our purpose, and our destiny are inseparable from God. Consider your own body. Your hand, for example, has no worth when it is separated from your body. Yet, when joined with the body, the hand’s worth is inseparable from the worth of the whole body. We as the body of Christ share in the worth of Christ. God defines who we are, where we are, and what we have in light of our union with Christ. He bids us to define ourselves likewise.  

This is a simple concept, yet it is one we in the Western world have difficulty grasping. We tend to look at ourselves as individuals to measure our worth. In ancient cultures they saw worth in being part of a greater whole. For instance, to a Jew being part of the covenant community gave an individual great worth. Being outside the covenant community made a person of little or no worth. Consequently, one of the great debates of the day was over who were the true people of God. Little did they know that God was about to make for Himself a nation without borders that could not be defined by flesh and blood.

Now, Christ calls us His body. This dictates what God requires of us. He requires union. He does not want a people who simply follow certain do’s and don’ts. He wants people who partake of Him. Relationship with God is the context of the Christian life.

Jesus opposed most fiercely not the sinners of His day but those who opposed union. In this the heart of God is revealed.

Union with Christ is costly. It will cost us our own righteousness and our lust. Yet, with the death of these things comes the birth of the righteousness of God in our heart, and most of all the birth of the love of God.

Union with Christ is a celebration. The most joyous there is. However, we cannot rejoice alone. For to partake of our union with God, we must also partake of our union with each other. So God bids us to come join the dance—the celebration that will never end. Bring your friends… and your enemies!