Unity!

     A visitor to a mental hospital was astonished to note that there were only three guards watching over a hundred dangerous inmates.  He asked his guide, "Don't you fear that these people will overpower the guards and try to escape?"  "No," was the reply.  "Lunatics never unite." 
     So, how important is unity?  Should we be concerned that there is no unity in D.C., or for that matter nowhere else in the world? Let me be truthful with you: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand" (Matthew 12:25).  It will soon self-destruct. 
     A man asked his young son to break a bundle of sticks.  He returned a little later to find the lad very frustrated in the task.  He had raised the bundle high and smashed it on his knee, but he only bruised his knee.  He had set the bundle against a wall and stomped hard with his foot, but the bundle barely bent.  The father took the bundle from his son and untied it.  Then he began to break the sticks easily--one at a time.  So it is with the nation and our family.  United together we are strong, but divided or separated we can be easily broken. 
     It is obvious that there is an ominous spirit at work dividing and destroying everything that is wholesome.  Today, it is easier to divide than it is to unite which is true in every facet of life.  We are severed politically, socially, racially, and you name it.  Unity is going the way of the cuckoo bird.  I truly believe that we are living in the day that Jesus so clearly foresaw: "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places" (Matthew 24:7).  Only a blind man would not be able to see this. 
     For safety reasons, mountain climbers rope themselves together when climbing a mountain.  That way, if one climber should slip and fall, he would not fall to his death.  He would be held by the others until he could regain his footing.  And the purpose of the church is to hold the people together in unity so when one member slips and falls, the others will hold him up until he regains his footing.  But I'm sorry to say that even the church is experiencing disunity.  The people can't seem to get along. 
     The story is told of two students that graduated from the Chicago-Kent College of Law.  The highest ranking student in the class was a blind man named Overton, and when he received his honor, he insisted that half the credit should go to his friend, Kaspryzak.  They had first met one another in school when the armless Kaspryzak, had guided the blind Overton down a flight of stairs.  This acquaintance ripened into friendship and a beautiful example of interdependence.  The blind man carried the books that the armless man read aloud in their common study, and thus the deficiency of each individual was compensated for by the other's ability.  We too must unite for the benefit of ourselves, family, and nation. For more info you can visit us at www.JoyChristianMinistries.com.

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