Psalms of the ascents: Living in Harmony

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Psalm 133:1

How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in harmony!

(CSB)

A disunified world yearns for some unifying force.  However, the disconnection that occurred in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) created a disunity that requires reconnection with God the creator.  However, human effort cannot bring about this restoration for it is only possible through the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8).  While reconnection with God appears simple, only requiring one to confess Jesus as their savior (Romans 10:9-10), the snake in the Garden, Satan, provides opposition (Ephesians 6:12).  To combat this opposition requires the armor of God (Ephesians 6:13-18). 

The greatest damage from disunity is disunity in the church because it causes those outside the church to see no difference, and therefore no reason to desire becoming a believer in Christ.  Those in the church that have experienced reconnection of unity with God have an opportunity to demonstrate Godly unity.  Unfortunately, however, in many cases the church today more resembles the world with its disunity than a unifying force.  It is therefore imperative for the church of Jesus Christ to unify to fulfill its mission of spreading the Gospel (Mark 16:15) and making disciples (Matthew 28:19-20) through becoming a unifying force in a disunified world..

Psalm 133  has a theme of harmony.  The journey to Jerusalem was lengthy for many with plenty of time for disharmony to occur.  I remember as a child making the annual trip by car from Phoenix to Ohio.  During the three days of traveling in the backseat of a car, many opportunities for disunity existed.  Perhaps that is why the psalms of the ascents includes this psalm as a reminder of the need to maintain unity as they anticipated entering into the presence of God at the Temple in Jerusalem.  Unity in the church involves,

1)      Unity of purpose – Jesus last words to his followers was to spread the Gospel and make disciples of the nations (Mark 6:15; Matthew 28:19-20).  The enemy, however, seeking to take the church off focus on the mission manages to place theological wedges between believers.  Unity in the church involves not letting theological differences in interpretation of scripture distract from the spreading of the message of the Gospel.

2)      Unity of priorities – Matthew 6:33 reminds us first to seek the kingdom of God for when we do, God will provide what we need.  Seeking God’s direction should be the priority of not only the church body but each individual.  What we treasure most indicates where our heart is (Matthew 6:21).  Each believer and the church body must constantly ask itself if what they treasure most is God.  If it is not, then we may have found the source of disunity. 

3)      Unity of passion – Jesus told the woman at the well that true worshipers of Christ worship in Spirit and truth (John 4:24).  The truth component is the Word of God with the Spirit portion being the passion with which we worship our God.  As believers in Jesus Christ, we have the Holy Spirit within us.  Passionate worship of God is not emotional hype but the Spirit within each believer bringing to realization the immensity of God providing reconciliation through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son.  A church unified around the spirit of this truth is a church unified in passion, priority, and purpose. 

It is time for the church to begin fulfilling its mission of spreading the Gospel and making disciples.  We can have theological differences but must insure these differences do not distract from the missional purpose of the church. A disunified world needs a unified church pointing it to Jesus.