Becoming one

Becoming one is what we all want in life. Deep down, we know this is what we need with God. It’s what we dream about for our marriages and it’s what we desire with our real friends. This is inherent because, we were made to be one. 

However, this is also one of the greatest challenges of our lives and in truth, it’s a process that will last a lifetime. 

Each day we’re navigating ourselves, negative thoughts, pressures and the temptation to be divided. In fact, being divided is sometimes easier, than becoming one. 

Have you noticed?

It’s easy to not forgive, isolate and shut people out because we don’t agree. It’s easy to label others by a variety of things, which in turn, makes it easy to dismiss them and move on. But this type of attitude is not only impacting friends outside of our homes, it’s bringing division into our homes and causing a slow death. It’s decaying our relationship with God and impacting a lot more in our lives than we think. Families are suffering, marriages are cold and too many hearts are hard toward God. 

But this is not how we were made to live and Jesus calls us higher.

He calls us to become one.

Becoming one is an intentional choice we make everyday, and it requires support along the way. We need this to combat the proclivity of being divided, so that we have what we really want, becoming one!

So how do we do this?

Let’s start with Jesus. If He prayed this for us, then He will help us do it. 

“I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.”

John 17:21

Notice, Jesus was praying about this because it was important to Him. Furthermore, this also reveals, it’s the will of God that we are one.

We are called to be one with God, with our spouse, with the right friends and with His church. We are called to be united through our faith, which then, empowers us to be one with others by His love. This can only happen through the Holy Spirit in our marriages and beyond. We need God to become one. 

So, here’s a few steps we can put into practice today.

The first is, our spouse, friends and church are not responsible for making me happy.

This is BIG because our culture tells us to put this expectation onto others, and when they fail, move on. But this perspective is destroying families and wounding hearts. 

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be happy; therefore, we go to God for that because He’s our source. He’s the only one who can satisfy and heal our lives. He’s the only one who fulfills us with everything we need.

If we depend on others to make us happy, we will eventually isolate from them. If we go to God to make us happy, we can grow in oneness toward them because we have the right source.

The second is, challenge the inner-dialogue.

This is massive as most of our thoughts are negative and they are leading us away from God. This is the truth for all of us because, we are bent toward negativity, selfishness, and isolation. Which is why we have to lead ourselves in what we’re going to think about. 

Who’s in charge of your life, the thinker or the thought?

If we’re not careful, our thoughts can take us into disaster, while God is wanting to us to become one.

So, challenge the inner-dialogue by letting God’s word the Bible, determine what you do and how you do it. Let His word be your roadmap in navigating yourself and others. 

Then, challenge the inner-dialogue by telling the right person what you’re thinking. This could be a pastor, group leader, trusted friend, a prayer partner and more. Articulating our thoughts, helps dismantle our thoughts and takes away their power. 

Think about it, everything we do starts with a thought. For better or for worse, we think it, then we do it, which is why we must challenge them with God’s word and with trusted people.

These two practical steps can help us stay focused on becoming one! But we must choose this daily. We must determine to be one and refuse to isolate at all cost. 

Are moving toward becoming one today? Or, are you isolating?

If you’re isolating, please don’t. It’s a trick and the end of it is pain.

Becoming one is painful at times, but the end is full of life and joy. This is what we want and this is what we can have, becoming one!

Have a great day and God is for you,

PD