I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgement. — I Corinthians 1:10

Harmony. Gk harmonia, “joint, agreement, concord.”

I imagine that most of us have been in a meeting where debates, arguments and personal opinions get so heated that you just want to stand up and scream, “Can’t we all just get along?”. Apparently, Paul had the same trouble with the church in Corinth! Corinth had become a very ethnically and culturally diverse city, with Greeks, Romans, merchants, travelling tradesmen, visitors, pagan idol worshippers, Jews and new believers all trying to live together and get along. The new Christian congregation was finding it difficult to remain faithful to Christ and keep their focus on His Word.

It is the same for us today. We let our selfish desires and agendas get in the way of peaceful relationships and end up quarrelling and resentful when we don’t get our own way… not what God intends for us. I love the Greek word for ‘fellowship’: koinonia. It means “Sharing… Participation in a common thing”. ‘Koinonia’ was the name of my parents’ church fellowship group many years ago, and though I loved how the word sounded, I never really appreciated the deep meaning of the word. True Christian fellowship is more than just tolerating someone. It is actively loving, listening and forgiving our fellow believers. We will never be free of our sinful, selfish thoughts and deeds, but God has equipped all of us with the spiritual gifts necessary to encourage and strengthen one another in our battles against selfishness, to “be united in the same mind and the same judgement”. God empowers us, you and me, through His word and work of the Holy Spirit, to boldly profess the faith He has given us and to continue to strive toward our eternal fellowship together in heaven with God , our Father, Friend and Redeemer.

Heavenly Father, Help me to set aside my selfish desires and agendas to see instead the needs of those around me. Through Your word, direct our ways, that we may live harmoniously as believers in Christ. Amen.