Many confuse unity with uniformity – that superficial sameness that only runs skin deep. Unity isn’t manufactured through external conformity. It emerges organically when believers focus together on something greater than themselves – the Lord Jesus Christ.

A tragic lesson about focus emerges from the story of Eastern Airlines Flight 401. Flight 401 was scheduled from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida. Shortly before midnight on December 29, 1972, the Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar crashed into the Florida Everglades. All 3 cockpit crew members, two of the 10 flight attendants, and 96 of the 163 passengers were killed. The FAA investigation into the crash revealed that the cockpit crew became so fixated on a faulty indicator light that they lost sight of their primary task – flying the plane. Their distraction led to a devastating crash in the Florida Everglades.

How easily we can lose sight of what truly matters.

Beyond Surface-Level Unity

Many confuse unity with uniformity – that superficial sameness that only runs skin deep. You might as well try to create unity by tying two cats together by their tails and throwing them over a clothesline. You’ll certainly have union, but you won’t have unity! As D.L. Moody wisely noted in his Anecdotes, “There are two ways of being unified – one is to be frozen together, and the other is to be melted together. What Christians need is to be united in love, and then they may expect to have power.”

Unity in the Upper Room

When we look at Acts 1:12-26, we discover an extraordinary gathering that exemplified this kind of deep unity. Picture the scene in the upper room: eleven disciples from vastly different backgrounds – fishermen rubbing shoulders with former tax collectors and political activists.

Read More