Emotional Well-Being | Independence Day

I have been dreading this day. I feel heavy and concerned for my family, for others.

The 4th of July - a day when Americans celebrate - independence. Under normal circumstances we get together and throw a party, have a barbecue, watch fireworks. But we are also in the middle of a pandemic. People are tired of being apart. Rebelling, even angry. More people will “break the rules” today. More people will get sick, disease will spread, using our own desire to be close, our desire to be together, to be one, to reflect the Image of God, against us.

I am sad. I am anxious. I feel defeated.

Suddenly the Holy Spirit shows me a different perspective. A different way to see this.

This pandemic has revealed a beautiful fact. In all our brokenness, in all the chaos, in everything that has been twisted, God has preserved His Image in humanity. Not just in the Church, but in all humanity!

In all the time sin has been in the world, it has not been able to destroy the Image of God that is in us all - our desire to be One. To be in relationship.

It has taken a beating since the Garden. It is no longer untarnished and pure, but it is still there. Still strong, even defiant against what the enemy would throw at it. It is strong even in those who do not acknowledge it as God’s Image.

God is greater. In humanity we see that the Image of God is not defeated. We desire oneness and relationship!

Not that I think we should abandon wisdom and be together at all costs. On the contrary, it is my opinion that we are called to wisdom. I believe we need to face this situation as the foe that it is and work together to defeat it. We can assess our vulnerabilities and use our strengths. Those strengths may include patience, self-control, perhaps self-denial for a time. I see those characteristics in Jesus in His time on this planet. The unified goal being to see the enemy defeated once again!

This revelation for me is not about influencing behavior or personal choices during this time. I have my opinions, but it is too big a task for me to tackle what is right for everyone. I am not the judge.

My joy and my hope is in the fact that the Image of God is still alive and well in the human race! Bruised, imperfect, dented, cracked, but alive and well!! Thanks be to God! He is the Victor!

Ok now I sound a bit Christian-ese. Forgive me. I am excited. There is hope for us. God is good. His image prevails in us! He can continue to build on that in us as a planet.

Lord, I pray that you will teach us during this time of forced separation, that seems wise to me for a time to embrace our desire for Oneness that is Your Image reflected in us. Use it into the future as we are able to come back together to bring us to greater unity as a church, city, state, nation and world. Lord, like Job, bless our latter days more than our beginning!

Genesis 1:27 NKJV
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

1 John 4:4 NKJV
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

John 16:32-33 NKJV
32 Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. 33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

John 17:20-23 NKJV
20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

---

About the Author

Darla loves God and is the Media Communication Coordinator for CitySalt Church. She is a graphic designer and an entrepreneur. Always learning. Eternally grateful for her wonderful and supporting husband Mark and faithful friends who are are pillars of encouragement in all her endeavors.

Mark and Darla have no children but have the privilege of loving a gaggle of ever expanding nieces and nephews.

Oneness | He is Within Us All

In pondering oneness, I considered many things. I thought of myself, alone at home with a good book, music or a movie and reveling in my alone time, seeking oneness with myself. As an introvert, I need these times to recharge, especially considering I have a customer service job dealing with the public.

I also remembered times that I have been camping with friends and sitting around the campfire with the stars out, when a silence falls in the darkness. Not an awkward silence, but one filled with contentment and the joy of a time of relaxation with good friends doing something we all enjoy.

I thought of times with my wife when we are relaxing together, praying together or driving together. Basically times of contentment when we are aligned with each other and hopefully with God and His purposes together.

But one time in particular reminded me of the Oneness we are invited to with God.

We were over at Pastor John's house where he was presenting a Seder —another time of oneness where Jewish families gather to celebrate Passover. John and Laura were dressed as Opa and Oma, our Jewish grandparents. John went through each step of the Seder, teaching us about this Jewish tradition as a part of our Christian heritage. John had reached the step where we open the front door as an invitation to Elijah to join us for the Seder. John opened the door, and, instead of an empty doorway, as is what normally occurs during the Seder, our friend, Cam, stood in the doorway and waved and came in. We all laughed and continued the Seder.

In Jewish tradition, Elijah heralds the coming of the Messiah. This got me thinking. If Elijah arrives to join the Seder, does that herald the coming of the Messiah? And, if that is the case, what if Cam, in the role of Elijah, did, indeed, herald the Messiah's coming?

And I realized, that we are not waiting for the Messiah. He is already here with us! We live in His presence with His Holy Spirit in our hearts. We can feel Oneness with Him and with others throughout our daily lives. In community and in solitude.

The Last Supper was also a Passover Seder that allowed Jesus to celebrate Oneness with His apostles one last time before his suffering and ascension into Heaven.

Luke 22:14-16
When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”

May we consider the oneness with Jesus that is available to us today, as we reflect on his moments of extending oneness throughout history.

---

About the Author

Mark lives in Oregon with his lovely wife, Darla and enjoys reading, writing, playing games and working to make the world a better place. He currently serves CitySalt church as a sound engineer and on the church council.

Oneness | Oneness with God

I fall out of alignment often. I get busy and am running all day, crashing at night and getting up to start the marathon again the next day. I fill my mind with the ever changing to-do list to make sure nothing falls apart, that bills get paid, meals get cooked, kids get to activities, that I am caught up at work and that the next family project is on track. Currently we are planning an extended trip to visit family, so there is always a new to-do list, no matter how many tasks I get checked off.

In these seasons, I am sometimes able to stay in tune with the more important things in life. I can take a minute (even if it is literally just one minute) to sit quietly with the Lord and make sure that my heart and my mind are in the right place. I want to be sure that I am aligned with the Lord and He is guiding my choices, my words, my interactions with others and that His light is present in my presence. Other times I fall off track.

The difference is subtle at first. It’s like I’m running on momentum, but the more I wander off on my own, the more lost I get. I start to get flustered and miss things. It’s like “Peace” has left the building.

The wonderful thing is that I can realign and reconnect. God has not left me, I have just been too preoccupied to notice and recognize His presence. So I realign in prayer and in silent acknowledgment of God and total acceptance of His work in my life. I imagine that we are like a pair in a team-building activity where God guides me blindly through an obstacle course.

THIS FEELS SO RIGHT.

I have yet to find the best way to describe how being aligned with God feels to me, but my best attempt is to say it is a feeling that I am in the most comfortable and correct place, extending beyond the concepts of time and space. To-do lists can be left undone, as long as it’s what is meant to be. Chaos can surround me and I don’t let it pull me in. Peace and grace are strong pillars of my being and I am moving along a predestined track at just the right speed, to be at just the right place whenever God wants me there. May God guide and move me, not the worldly chaos.

1 Corinthians 2:9-13
But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

---

About the Author

Leona is a wife, mother and traveler who is intrigued by how different people live. Her latest project is exploring ways that different walks of life can simplify, in order to live a fulfilling journey.

Oneness | Solitude vs. Isolation

When I think of the Trinity, I am filled with hope. It represents harmony, a sense of belonging, and abiding love. There was a period of time in my early life in which I experienced the opposite, isolation.

I was born into a blended family with two half-brothers who are 9 and 11 years older than me. As an extrovert, I initially thrived in our family of 5. I loved the activities that my brothers brought into our home: the many projects associated with their pursuit of earning Boy Scout Badges, their high school fundraising dance held at our house with a live band, and their Senior Proms.

After high school, each brother moved far away to college, and my life drastically changed. Fun activities and new people no longer swirled through our home like a fresh, invigorating breeze. I mourned the absence of each brother as they left home, and in turn grieved the loss of fun that they added to our family. I changed from being the youngest child to an only child, and I did not like it.

At the same time, it seemed like my 7-year-old behavior suddenly received an increased amount of scrutiny and disciplinary action. I still do not fully understand why, but I was not allowed to invite friends over. And it became difficult to be allowed to go out to a friend’s house. I found myself spending more and more time by myself, and not by my choice. The important truth was that I hated the unending quiet. I found myself stuck in my head, thinking over and over about how to navigate this difficult new environment. This was the start of my battle against isolation, and I know God did not create me to live that way. As an adult, I sought out the sanctuary of church communities. I learned that isolation is a lie and is an enemy to resist with the effective weapon of community!

I recently heard an analogy, author unknown, that describes our relationship with God with this word picture: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each seated at a separate side of a small square table, conversing and enjoying each other’s company. The analogy describes them as welcoming you to join them for blessed fellowship at the open fourth side. This is a life-giving, and for me, life-saving invitation!

Even God did not want to be alone. God chose to live in the community that is the Trinity, rather than live alone. And I live in community with the Trinity by figuratively sitting my life at the fourth side of our table each day. That’s my idea of a wonderful time! A group to belong in and contribute to. That thought makes all the difference in my life: to be invited and claimed by God.

Song of Solomon 2:16 NKJV
“My beloved is mine, and I am His.”

As a post-middle-aged adult living by myself for the last several years, I once again have an overabundance of quiet. And as an extrovert, I have to work hard to not allow that alone time to deteriorate into the toxic climate of isolation. I’m most comfortable being around people. Social interaction, such as a lively conversation, recharges my battery and invigorates me. Too much alone time stresses and drains me, causing my anxiety level to rise. I know I need to place myself in communal activities to keep a healthy and positive attitude. God designed the acts of helping others to also boomerang the blessings back to us, in so many ways.

Romans 12:1-2 MSG
“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life, - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, and develops well-formed maturity in you.”

I realized that a lot of my thought time was spent in worrying about what might go wrong. By focusing on God and what He says, I can have healthy and holy solitude. This solitude helps me to follow God’s program for my life, which is already in progress. As I wait upon the Lord and cooperate with His plan, my needless worries can fade away. I share my burdens with God and spend my time meditating on His gift of hope to me, and what a life-changing gift that is!

Philippians 4:8-9 MSG
“Summing it all up friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious – the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into His most excellent harmonies.”

During a time of sweet solitude, God revealed to me that I had already witnessed a perfect example of how loving and intimate my relationship with Him can be. I remembered that on a beautiful sunny day last summer, I was walking in my neighborhood on a long, straight street with multiple bus stops. I thought nothing of a bus as it passed me, until I saw the following series of events.

Across the street, I noticed a young mother and her very young child, about a block away, walking towards me. As I observed them walking, I heard the whoosh of the bus’s brakes behind me and after a short pause, I heard the engine roar as it accelerated and continued on its route. The child’s voice soon cried out in joy and waved her arms at something behind me, also on the opposite side of the street. Brimming with curiosity, I quickly turned on my heel to see an older woman walking away from the bus stop and towards them. I noticed the older woman smile as the little girl happily shouted “Grandma, Grandma!”

The family was close enough to each other now, that the Grandma stopped, and knelt down on the sidewalk with her arms flung open wide. The child’s happy squeal was followed by the rapid sound of small shoes hitting the sidewalk as the little girl ran. With happy anticipation, I watched the girl reach her much desired destination and fling herself into her Grandma’s open arms. The ensuing hugs, kisses, and affirmations of love put a lump in my throat. In the midst of this moment, God figuratively tapped me on the shoulder and told me I can receive this kind of love from Him whenever I want. My heart swelled with hope as I felt His love surround me, and I realized my current life situation and my future were so much brighter than I have been willing to believe.

I leave you with this thought: whenever you feel discouraged or alone and in need of a hug, remember the word picture I just described. Imagine Jesus standing in front of you with a smile on His face and His arms open wide. I encourage you to feel yourself running towards Him, and then feel the most loving and affirming embrace you have ever felt. This is one of the many gifts God wants to give to us daily. Will you take some time to bless yourself with His abundant love today?

---

About the Author

Sara has attended CitySalt Church since 2004, the year it was founded. She studied Journalism, wrote for her college newspaper, and is a member of Oregon Christian Writers. Sara also enjoys singing hymns with friends: “there is a sermon in every hymn waiting to be discovered and enjoyed.”

Oneness | It Takes a Village

Being a parent has underscored for me just how deeply fragmented our sense of community is in American culture. When I was pregnant with my first child, I thought I had ample community support. My husband and I were very connected with our church, we had family nearby, we had work, and we had other long-lasting friends around the city. Our work and social calendars were full, and surely the people and events that filled our days would continue to be there for us after our child was born.

Unfortunately this turned out not to be the case, at least for the most part. Thankfully we did have friends drop off dinners for us for the first week after our daughter’s birth. But then it seemed friends quickly started to fall away. Maybe it was just that I was too exhausted to reach out, combined with people assuming I was unavailable for socializing (a fair assumption).

I also got laid off from my job, so I didn’t even have the structure of work to go back to. We still had our church, but its service met on Sunday evenings, a difficult time for a fussy infant, so our church attendance became sporadic. I was faced with long, isolated hours alone with a preverbal baby. This took a toll on my mental health, which was already declining from extreme sleep deprivation and postpartum hormones. In truth, I likely had PTSD from a difficult labor and first few weeks postpartum. I didn’t have health insurance and was over the income limit for Medicaid, so I couldn’t seek medical or mental health care for myself.

There were a few things that saved me during that difficult time. One was having help on the weekends. Between my mom and my mother-in-law, usually one of them was there each weekend to spend a night or two and do some night-time bottle-feedings so I could sleep.

I also figured out some outings my daughter and I could go on during the day. By the time she was 5-months-old, I’d cobbled together a weekly schedule that included library storytime, mom + baby yoga, baby sign language, and even a mom + baby writing group. I had a zoo membership and we’d frequently go for long walks through the zoo. My husband and I started inviting various friends over for dinner about once a week, and we had a group of friends that I arranged monthly weekend breakfasts with. I arranged playdates with other moms at our church. Still, I spent most of my time alone with my baby, and I was very lonely.

I’d mastered the art of getting out of the house with a baby, but I was too exhausted to really connect with people during those outings. I needed a community that I didn’t have to try so hard for. No one – especially an exhausted young mom with a postpartum mood disorder — can be the constant host and initiator. Relationships need to be reciprocal.

In Matthew 15:12-13, Jesus said, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” We are called as Christians to be good friends. Being a good friend should be a high priority, but it often gets buried in our busy schedules and various commitments.

A friend who lived nearby during this time told my husband and I later that we should have asked for more help. I suppose this is true. I accept responsibility for that and I have no blame for anyone. But I was too busy surviving each day to ask for help. Besides, asking for help was not something that naturally came to my mind. And I couldn’t even think of what to ask for. We’d been gifted many of the material things we needed, and I was grateful, but it didn’t fill the hole where community should have been.

Ultimately, my husband and I decided to move to Eugene. Living in Portland wasn’t working out for us economically, and I didn’t have the emotional support system I needed. We needed to be nearer my parents, as well as to find more affordable housing. One thing that I’ve really appreciated about having my parents around is that they assume we need help with our kids. I sometimes let them know when I have a need, but they usually offer before I ask. They’ve provided us with an immense amount of free childcare, and even let me share one of their cars for a few years until we could afford to buy a second vehicle.

I wish that all parents had supportive grandparents living nearby. Many do, and many do not. I can tell you with certainty that humans were meant to raise their children in community, with supportive family and friends nearby. It absolutely does take a village to raise a child. Community in our culture is fragmented, but we can work to change that. How? I invite you to build community by:

• Being an initiator. Invite a friend or acquaintance to join you for coffee, dinner etc.

• Reciprocating. Do you have a friend who often reaches out to you or invites you to do things? It’s your turn to invite them back.

• Saying hello to your neighbors.

• Expanding your circle. Be intentional making new friends.

• Volunteering at church. Church cannot happen without the support of volunteers. Volunteer to help lessen the burden and prevent others from burning out!

• Asking for help. Yes, sometimes we all need to show our vulnerable side and allow others to help us. People don’t know that you have a need unless you ask.

What are your ideas for building community? Let us know in the comments below.

---

About the Author

Ursula and her husband Spencer have two young children, and their family enjoys playing hide-and-seek and dancing in the living room. She works as a communications and events coordinator with the University of Oregon.

You can read more from Ursula at motherbearblog.com.

Oneness | We Were Never Meant to Do It Alone

The Back Story
I was born into a Christian family. A Catholic Christian family. A devout, Catholic Christian family. I was in church every Sunday and Holy Day from infancy on. I attended parochial school from 1st grade through high school. I was taught that there is a God who is a loving Father, and His Son Jesus became a man, lived with us and died for our sins so that we could be God’s children and live with Him forever. He did all these things through the power of His Holy Spirit. Of course there is a lot more to that story, but it is enough to make my point. I don’t ever remember a time in my life when I didn’t believe myself to be a Christian.

I had a good childhood, loving parents, and close family. Frankly, I remember feeling pretty happy and safe. My parents taught me right from wrong. From my perception, it was black and white, no grey area and my parents were the ones to make the important decisions. Follow the rules, go to confession regularly and I am golden! God loved me and all was right with the world.

Things started to change for me in high school. I started to notice that my parents were more interested in my opinion about things. They wanted to know what I thought I should do in a particular circumstance. They didn’t seem to want to hand me all the answers. Hmmm. This was different and didn’t feel quite as safe. I liked having clear rules and safe boundaries.

Even though I was taught about a good God and loving Savior, we live in a broken world and the things of God got twisted for me along the way. There is more to that story too, but suffice it to say that the idea of a loving God had developed in my imagination to a God who loved me as long as I didn’t screw up. Now my parents were asking me, their first born, the responsible one, to start making decisions on my own. What if I screwed up?

In my 16th year, I entered into a dark depression. Fear of failing, screwing up, or falling short of God’s expectations dominated my thoughts. I once left it up to my parents to keep me on God’s good side and now they were handing the mantle to me.. Which was unexpected, and honestly unwanted. I no longer felt safe. The next 3 years were a very dark time for me, full of fear.

But thanks be to our truly loving God, who did not leave me in that condition!

Through a series of events, I was introduced in my 19th year to a new way of interacting with this God I so wanted to please. I was introduced to a relationship with God. The Lord showed himself to me in a whole new way and he began to heal my perception of Him. Did it happen overnight? No. The struggle with depression, lack of confidence and trusting in Him did not end overnight, but it was the beginning! In my 20’s I gained ground and grew in understanding and hope in my friendship with Jesus and the season of depression passed. Worship, prayer and relationships with friends and mentors on the same journey, literally “gave me a new lease on life.” And the journey continues…

Fast Forward
Twenty-some years later still on that journey, I had what I can only call “an epiphany!”

Epiphany: Merriam-Webster Dictionary
1 capitalized: January 6 observed as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles...
2 : an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being
3a(1) : a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something

I was now attending South Hills Church, later to become CitySalt. Since the beginning of the church there has been time set aside by leadership for anyone who wants to gather to pray corporately for our church body. Pastor John led the call then too. On one such evening, besides John, I was the only other person who came to pray. There was nothing significant about the date. I don’t remember anything particular about events or circumstances going on at this point in my life. We were just doing what we do, gathering to pray. In God-like fashion, He showed up and everything changed for me.

John 17: 22-23
And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

“I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one…”
“I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one…”
Light bulb: We were never meant to do this alone!

We were never meant to need to figure things out in order to impress God. We were never meant to clean up our act before we could present ourselves pure before Him.

I was never meant to hide from Him what I don’t understand. Or clean up my christian ‘speak’ so that I present myself to Him in a way He could tolerate. I am not left on my own to “get my act together.” I am not discarded to flounder in my mistakes. It is okay to talk to Him about things I struggle with and ask for help. He already knows anyway.

I am made in the image of God. (Genesis 1:27)

“that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one,”
We: the Father, Son, Holy Spirit and me are in this together!!!

The earth moved for me in that moment of realization. God is in this with me! I was never meant to go it alone.

If you had this figured out in Christianity 101, I commend you and you needn’t read any further, but this was life changing for me! Never before had I thought of being partnered with God for my own salvation. I think that after all these years, I still thought of the Father as someone to impress--still feeling as though my life literally depended on impressing Him. “Thank you Jesus for coming and dying on the cross, but I’ll take it from here,” was my position. He had done His part and the rest was up to me.

I don’t believe that anymore. By sending Jesus to die on the cross, by Jesus coming, by leaving the Holy Spirit with us, God, the Trinity, has more at stake in this game then I do. He laid it all on the line. He wants us to get it right this time and is willing to give everything to help us to get there, despite our sin.

John 15:5
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

I don’t comprehend how this all works out and what it all means, but I can talk to Him about it:-) I want to know Him more and continue the journey together. He designed it that way, from how I see it. Father, help me to understand, forgive my misunderstanding.

We are made in the image of God. God is Three. God is One. We are invited to “be one” in Him.

1 Corinthians 13:11-12
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

---

About the Author

Darla loves God and is the Media Communication Coordinator for CitySalt Church. She is a graphic designer and an entrepreneur. Always learning. Eternally grateful for her wonderful and supporting husband Mark and faithful friends who are are pillars of encouragement in all her endeavors.

Mark and Darla have no children but have the privilege of loving a gaggle of ever expanding nieces and nephews.

Oneness | Coming Together to Be Something

Disclaimer: I had to research and reflect and check myself a lot for this topic because I really didn’t know much about it, and have strong feelings about what little I did know, so please bear with me. I’m about to throw a lot of Scripture references at you because I read as many as I could in order to get a better picture of what oneness looks like. Any Bible verses I write are in NIV translation.

The Bible shows the importance of unity in God’s people in both the Old and New Testaments.

Psalm 133:1
How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.

2 Timothy 2:23
Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.

Matthew 12:25 is a response by Jesus to refute the idea that he was doing the devil’s work, but I think His words show the need for unity as well:
“...Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.”

Matthew 5:9
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

Now I don’t think that these verses mean that we have to passively agree with everything that every Christian does. There are times to stand up for what is right when a person or group of believers is in the wrong. But there are also times to focus more on what we have in common, what is important in our faith, than being divided over small differences. There is a lot that can be done when we work together. And even more so, God’s love and power to change lives and the world is at its fullest when we come together in not just unity but in oneness.

With careful study of scripture, we can see that there is a distinction between the concept of unity versus oneness.

Ephesians 4:2-6, we see both mentioned:
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all in all.

With further digging into the difference between unity and oneness, I came across the idea that unity is the coming together of different people to do something, while oneness is the coming together of people to be something.*

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 shows us a picture of coming together to be, as we all have different purposes and gifts but we can still act with one spirit:
Just as a body, though one, has many parts [like a hand or foot or eye], but all its parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body…

Acts 4:32-35 shows a practical example, one that I struggle with.
All the believers were one in heart and mind… No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.

When I was teaching overseas at my second school, the foreign staff was made up of believers, most of who lived on a compound together. We did each have our own space (our own bedroom with stuff we brought or bought). But there was a strong spirit of unity and even a bit of oneness there. We were there for the same reasons, and prayed together a lot. We shared almost all our meals and free time together. We also shared many of our belongings, not really worrying about what was “ours.” And we had different talents and skills and personalities that came together to function as one body and have an effect on our little world there. That time in my life is very precious to me. Even times of great stress and fear due to living in a conflict zone were sweet times that we came together in one heart and mind. We grieved together and celebrated together and loved each other deeply, despite our differences.

My hope is that the church everywhere gets to experience this unity and oneness. Where we are of one heart and mind and body, as God the Father, Son, and Spirit are. And where we are one with God as well.

*http://richardfbolaji.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-difference-between-unity-and-oneness_59.html

---

About the Author

Jessie is an educator, she currently teaches teens and has taught overseas. She is also a novice writer, with several books in various stages and a (long-neglected) blog about the journeys of women. She is very excited to be a part of the CitySalt blog team. She has been blessed by a few communities of Christian writers that have encouraged her dream. She lives with her trusty sidekick cat, Arwen in the foothills of South Eugene, where she can go hiking within minutes of the sun coming out from behind the clouds.

Oneness | The Trinity: A Surprisingly Practical Doctrine for These Times

The night before Jesus was crucified, killed in part because of political and religious corruption, he prayed that his beloved disciples, his friends, would “become completely one.”

John 17:20-24
“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”

Knowing he was about to suffer tremendously and die, Jesus prayed for his followers to be unified, in the same way that Jesus is unified with the One he called “Father.”

So, how does it work? How does it work that Jesus is God and that God is the Holy Spirit? My high school youth director said to think of it like water, ice, and steam: the same chemical in different forms. But ice and water and steam can all exist separately from one another, where Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are one single divine nature. It’s all a little much, a little complicated, especially in a world in which animated pictures have become a stand-in for communication and many of us (raises hand) think that reading the headline gives us all the information we need.

But in addition to Jesus praying that we would act like this unified divine being, we’re also made in the image of a Trinitarian God, so it’s probably something we ought to pay attention to. Because we’re not just going through the motions, it’s the very nature of who we are.

God is many things, but at the core, God is love. Out of love, God created the world. Out of love, God sent Jesus to redeem us. Out of love, God offers the opportunity for reconciliation, rather than condemnation. God’s love is so expansive that worlds, planets, stars, the sun, the moon, all of life flows out of, into, and through God. God’s love is life creating, life sustaining, and life saving. Our first job as followers of Christ is to love God. Our second, to love one another. Jesus says that “everyone will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

I think it’s important to note that God doesn’t love human creatures exclusively. The scriptures are full of references and stories about God’s love for all creation. Psalm 104, for instance, praises God for the majesty and care of creation, describing in loving detail how God gives every animal a drink of water, provides shelter for birds, gladdens human hearts, and provides plants for humans and animals alike to eat. The earth is full of God’s creatures, and God loves this very good world. St. Francis of Assisi is one of our spiritual parents who reminded us of this again and again.

But we’re the only creatures made in God’s image, so what does that mean for us?

The Trinitarian nature of God is intimacy and relationship. German theologian Jürgen Moltmann says that the Trinitarian nature of God demonstrates “the process of most perfect and intense empathy….The Persons of the Trinity make one another shine through that glory, mutually and together. They glow into perfect form through one another and awake to perfected beauty in one another” (The Trinity and the Kingdom). This is the Imago Dei in us. This is the way of being to which we can aspire. And no part of our life is exempt. Every relationship, every interaction, is and ought to be indwelled with this spirit.

This is a radical way to look at the world: motivated and sustained by the love of Christ, we share the good news that old ways of living, being, and relating have been replaced by the reconciliation of all creation to the Creator. Our calling, then, is reconciliation, returning and leading others to a life in Christ that is communal, just, and interdependent by its very nature.

And when we get this representation wrong, we really get it wrong. Every violent abuse of power and every bullying act is a mutilation of God’s image. It violates the stewardship with which we have been entrusted by the Creator who lovingly crafted and righteously cares for this world.

One way in which the early church Fathers described the Trinity was the word perichoresis, a Greek word meaning things like: to make room for, to go forward, to contain, rotation, around. It describes an intimate indwelling, a deep and fluctuating connection, mutual submission, shared love and breath and purpose and experience. A communal dance of connection between God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Our most trusted and intimate relationships are a dim reflection of the Holy Trinity, and yet we are called to pursue that same oneness. Just before He prays, Jesus tells his disciples to love one another, to abide in Jesus: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’” John 15:9-13

What does it mean to pursue intimacy in an age of emojis? What does it mean to live in mutual submission to one another in a country where independence and individual freedom is the highest prize? What does it mean to dwell with one another in our economy? The questions of the Trinity aren’t simply mysterious and theoretical, they’re deeply practical ones with long-reaching, beautiful potential. Brazilian theologian Leonoardo Boff says:

“We need to go beyond the understanding of Trinity as logical mystery and see it as saving mystery. The Trinity has to do with the lives of each of us, our daily experiences, our struggles to follow our conscience, our love and joy, our bearing the sufferings of the world and the tragedies of human existence; it also has to do with the struggle against social injustice, with efforts at building a more human form of society, with the sacrifices and martyrdoms that these endeavors so often bring. If we fail to include the Trinity in our personal and social odyssey, we shall have failed to show the saving mystery, failed in evangelization...We are not condemned to live alone, cut off from one another: we are called to live together and to enter into the communion of the Trinity. Society is not ultimately set in its unjust and unequal relationships, but summoned to transform itself in the light of the open and egalitarian relationships that obtain in the community of the Trinity, the goal of social and historical progress. If the Trinity is good news, then it is so particularly for the oppressed and those condemned to solitude.” Trinity and Society

How can I contribute to a world that presses into the Kingdom? How can we, as a church, resist the impulse to build walls, cut connections, decide who is “in” and who is “out”? How can we submit to one another, abide in and with one another, and become truly “one”?

---

About the Author

Sarah is the author of Vegangelical: How Caring for Animals Can Shape Your Faith (Zondervan, 2016) and Animals Are Not Ours (No, Really, They’re Not): An Evangelical Animal Liberation Theology (Cascade Books, 2016). She spends her days working for CreatureKind, helping Christians put their faith into action. She lives in Eugene with her husband, son, and animal companions and enjoys action movies, black coffee, the daily crossword, and dreaming of her next international journey.