True Unity

Available for 27 days

Good morning! Although it’s 35 years ago, I can still remember the first time I heard the newly released Rugby World Cup anthem ‘World in Union’, the voice of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa initially principled and restrained before the full power of the song’s refrain took us to the heights of hope and vocal dexterity. As a schoolboy, looking forward to the opening of a televised sporting tournament, the song felt like it had optimism and gravity to spare. A quarter of a century on, the lyrics have become a little lost in history. The wars and worrying escalation of power and politics make the idea of a united world seem obsolete, perhaps even naïve. Likewise, when we hear about initiatives like the currently running annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we can wonder if a fragmented church worldwide is simply engaging in the same kind of magical thinking. In the New Testament book of Ephesians, Paul writes about Christian unity as a solid fact that flows from the gospel of Jesus. That gospel is forming what Anglican writer John Stott termed ‘God’s new society’, a global body of men and women from varied backgrounds who have commonly trusted in Christ as Saviour and who now belong to him and to one another. That’s a true unity made in heaven, come to earth – we can praise God for it, and pray for more of it. Almighty God, we thank you that in a world marked by confusion and diffusion, by opposition and aggression, your gospel holds real hope of union in Christ. We praise you that across cultures and continents, people are being united by common faith in your Son. We pray that this unity would deepen between those who have trusted in you and sweep those who have not yet believed in you into your new society. Amen.