Seeking Unity

My head is spinning with so many different things: the list of things that must get done, studying for preaching & teaching, planning for camp and mission trips, stuff that I would like to do, increasing family time, counseling, the future for my family and the church, etc. All of it whirls around inside my mind and guides my planning and goals. It can sometimes be a struggle though-trying to be the pastor that God is calling me to be and also growing as a follower of Him, a husband, father, son and friend. I pray all the time for balance in those areas and would wager that most people do the same. Trying to stay focused on where God has called us to serve in life and yet giving our family the same level of importance is a tightrope that most of us haven't walked very well.

What if it's not supposed to be about balance though? What if true success isn't measured in the person who can juggle a busy schedule and be actively engaged in family time? Perhaps part of the reason that we fight this internal battle is that we keep trying to compartmentalize our lives into separate areas when God is trying to get us to open our lives up fully to Him. Until we stop marking off the "church", "work" and "family" areas of life as separate entities, we won't truly be successful.

We say all the time that we are seeking unity in the church and how hard that is to find. What if the biggest obstacle to the unity we are called to is the lack of unity in our individual lives? That's why God tells us that the most important commandment is to love Him with our heart, soul, mind and strength. He knows that the only way for us to truly be "one" is for our whole being to be focused on the pursuit of Him.

That kind of singular purpose in individual lives leads to a thriving Church that even the gates of hell can't stand against.