None of us can succeed in what Christ has for us to do without the help of others. We need each other. We should be interested in bringing to pass what God wants to do in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ, to see them the way God sees them, and to speak that encouragement. In turn, we must each be willing to receive input and encouragement. God will always intertwine our mission with the missions of others around us.
When Paul wrote to the Galatians he had some interesting things to say about unity and interdependence within the body of Christ. Take a look at Galatians 3:28-29.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
According to Paul, the identification of “Jew” or “Greek” is completely eradicated by the identity “Christian.” Nationality, social status, and gender are meaningless compared to the significance of being in Christ. The phrase “in Christ Jesus” jumps out at me as something that needs further investigation. Being one in Him is more significant than simply all Christians having something in common, like all hobbyists can be unified by a common interest.
There must be something more Paul is talking about in Galatians when he said “you are all one in Christ Jesus.” This is not generic “in Him we live” that Paul declared in Athens or “in Him all things consist” that he wrote to the Colossian church. The unity Paul describes does not come from an understanding that we universally rely on God for existence. In Galatians our position in Him is not only descriptive of our relationship with Him, but also of our relationship to each other.
Together, united by our faith in Him, we are one. Identity is not primarily defined by family, occupation, hobbies or home town. If we are in Him, that is our primary source of identity. We should each think of ourselves first as “in Him” before we define ourselves by these other attributes. Take a moment to consider the implications of that statement. How many times do we introduce ourselves to others? Do we begin with occupation or family status, or do we think of ourselves first and foremost as in Him?