It’s a well-used statement: Teamwork makes the dream work. I often say this to my kiddos – they even anticipate it and say it before I do (they’ve heard it a lot) – and they grumble under their breath about having to be on the team that does dishes, sweeps the floors, cleans the rooms, makes the beds, or does the laundry. Why couldn’t they be on a better, more exciting team? They always jump at the chance to go to work with Dad – they get paid in fast food or shopping credit when they make the dream work with Dad. Little do they know, it’s still the same team and the same dream.
I listened to a message recently on unity. Most of us have heard the story about the Tower of Babel. It’s often used in Sunday school lessons to illustrate the folly of mankind trying to be like God, the arrogance and prideful roots in our thinking, or a lesson in what happens when you don’t do what God commanded – you get scattered. Well, all of that’s interesting, but God also mentions something about the power of their unity:
The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Genesis 11:6 NIV
…then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Wow! Another popular phrase is, United we stand; divided we fall. While this well-known saying may be attributed to a 6th Century BC Greek storyteller, Aesop, I rather prefer how Jesus put it:
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.” Matthew 12:25 NIV
“If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” Mark 3:24-25 NIV
These passages are often used in sermons on marriage, and I have to agree with so many points made in that usage. Other sermons zero in on division in the church. Anyone know what’s going on with the Methodist church right now? Huge division! The reddish-colored bricks are crumbling! The long and short is that one side wants to embrace (and encourage) having someone who lives a homosexual lifestyle to be pastors, teachers, and leaders within the church. The other side is not on board with that (this is my camp in case anyone was wondering). Think of it! It would be a bit awkward for a homosexual pastor to teach on Romans 1:18-32.
While that was a bit of a rabbit trail, it does play a part in the point I’m getting to. Paul often showed that his heart was for unity. He didn’t want there to be separation between Jew and Gentile, Grace vs Law, circumcised or uncircumcised. In I Corinthians 1, he addresses the very heart of the division that the Methodist church is experiencing. Some of the people started to declare allegiance to Paul, others to Apollos, another to Cephas, and others to Christ. Modern language would have people in the church stating that they follow this politician, this sociological movement, this strategy of inclusion, and others… Christ.
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. I Corinthians 1:10 NIV
Paul knew his appeal wasn’t an easy-to-achieve goal. What church exists that has everyone with the exact same thoughts, the same ideas, the same personalities, the same…. the same… the same…? There isn’t one! Except… Paul was referring to having the same passion of following Christ. The same love of Christ. The same vision as Christ.
In all of those sermons that I’ve listened to in my life regarding marriage, I recognize that it’s impossible for a husband and wife to be united when they’re both going in opposite directions. How can they accomplish goals when they’re working against each other? Financial goals are impossible to reach when a husband and wife have different viewpoints on money management (been there). Family planning can be a point of contention when desires for more or no more are not shared or honored. Even the expectations of who does what in the teamwork can make the dream not work if there’s no sense of unity. So it is with the church. One side says love is love. The Bible says that God is love.
Teamwork makes the dream work… This is another way of looking at grace. I spent about 20 years battling (and not really putting up a fight against) alcohol. There were times I struggled to stay sober – and managed for a time (I’m a mother of 5 with a bit of a conscience after all). There were times I felt like an utter failure because I succumbed to a drink (or 2 or 3). But then I looked at Jesus.
I stopped being united with my own efforts. I stopped being united with programs (not knocking any programs that have helped so many out there). I stopped focusing on my failures. I started focusing on Jesus.
Not many people take me seriously when I tell them that I stopped drinking without any problems. They can’t seem to believe that after 1 very ugly crying session, releasing all of my broken pieces to the One who made them into something new, I walked away from even feeling the desire for alcohol. I can be around it, I can walk down and past the isles at the store that I used to know so well, and I don’t even feel the pull towards it. The team works – and the dream became a reality for me.
When the people on the team set their eyes on Jesus – the One who made us, sustains us, and perfects us (Hebrews 12:1-3) – no one is going to consider that embracing a sinful lifestyle is what Jesus wants us to do. Jesus wasn’t about inclusion or tolerance when He spent time with sinners and tax collectors – He never told an adulterous woman to continue in her sin. He was about calling them to a changed life. He was about transformation, not affirming an assumed false identity.
When I focus on Jesus and the magnitude of His grace, I don’t want to have a part of my old self. I’ve been called to something new. I’ve been changed, transformed, and given a new identity. That. Is. Grace. Grace is not a license to sin, but a fantastic reality that sin is no longer a desire. That is being on the same team as Jesus and experiencing being overtaken by His countless blessings. What is God out to accomplish that you can be part of? What vision can you come alongside God and see come about? I know I’m far from perfect, but Jesus chose me for His team and I accepted. Now it’s your turn. Choose Team Jesus.