Honestly, I don’t care for anything dripping all over me… especially not anything sticky, gooey, or melty. I get plenty of that just being a mom {can I get an amen?!}. But, I do love this word picture of  fragrant oil poured out on Aaron. It soothes and calms my soul.

Look at verses one and two of Psalm 133, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!”

David is writing this psalm after he becomes king, and we find him dwelling on the beauty of the unity of the 12 tribes of Israel. He is a proud papa, surveying unity and harmony after so much turmoil in his life in particular and Israel’s life as a whole.

A picture of warm, oozy unity. Like the oil running down Aaron’s head, beard, and garments. And another beautiful word picture in verse 3, “It is like the dew of Hermon…”.  Refreshing and cool, a lovely picture of what unity in the body of Christ can look like.

And when believers come together in the unity of Christ, this is the kind of beautiful picture we can present to the world. When we love, care for, encourage, bless one another— God’s unity— true unity will flow like oil from the top down, covering every part of His body….us… His people.

Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? But if you, like me, have seen the opposite of this happening in your church, your community of believers, your circle of friends, you may feel discouraged. How can this unity really be ours? How can we live this out in the flesh in the midst of our days?

In our flesh, we crave justice. We are selfish. We want our own way. Our flesh wants the opposite of true unity.

But because of the Cross, we can look at Christ and what He has done for us, and put off our selfish desires, and give up our fleshly cravings for self and competition. 

As Paul is talking to the Gentiles in Ephesians 3, he describes how we can begin to grasp this:

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,  may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

As we grasp His love for us, we can then turn and love.

This is unity. 

Love is to lay down your life, to give up your desires, your wants, and serve the other person instead.  I John 3:16 sums up the prescription perfectly, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”

We look to what Christ has done for us, and then go forth and do the same because we have been filled with His love.

So, let me ask you:

-Do you feel God’s love for you? If not, spend some time in His Word today, dwelling on the love He has for you. {Ephesians 3 is a good place to start.}

-Do people feel loved by you? Are you pursuing unity with your brothers and sisters in Christ? If not, what steps do you need to take today to begin that process?

Please share your story and thoughts in the comments. Let’s encourage each other to walk in love and unity today!

With Love From Uganda,

Joy Forney