Relationships on Track

It is that time of year and my den is filled with the beauty of a large Christmas village. The houses are lit and the parks are filled with scenes of bustling activity. Amid all this is a tiny Christmas train that was purchased more than 20 years ago. It has sat as a centerpiece of the park for all of these years. It was actually a children’s toy, but it fits beautifully in the village.

Every year I encounter the challenge of putting that little track together. Eight pieces in all, four straight and four curved, create the oval track that is placed prominently in front of the train depot in a park. Eight little plastic pieces that must be snapped together. Simple, right? The ends snap together fairly easy. The straight pieces on either side also snap together fairly easy. But as I begin to assemble the entire track the problems begin. Because it is flimsy plastic, what is snapped together does not always stay snapped together. As soon as I get one side completed, it then seems to fall apart while I attempt to get the other side connected. This process goes on seemingly forever, until finally I manage to get all of the pieces snapped in place.

Once all the pieces have been snapped in place, the oval track is fairly strong. It is merely plastic, so it can be broken apart, but it holds together reasonably well. Pressure can be applied to the whole and it will remain intact. It simply requires getting all of those pieces connected to achieve the sturdiness that is in the original design of the track. Once connected properly, the track can be put on the table and the little train is able to make its revolutions. The track will stand through all of the movement of the train.

In many ways the body of Christ is like this track. God has made us to be in relationships with each other. When we walk together in His plan, we are a strong, united front. The challenges of life and attacks of the evil one cannot overcome us. But when we allow strife, offense and unforgiveness to break the bonds of one connection, soon other connections will become weak as well. Even a little splinter between two believers can risk having a ripple effect through the entire body. We must be on guard and strive for unity in all that we do. “Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God's favor) to those who hear it.” (Ephesians 4:29 AMP) Loving and blessing to others builds this unity.

Evidence of this need for unity is in the final prayer of Jesus for His disciples and the believers to come. “Neither for these alone do I pray [it is not for their sake only that I make this request], but also for all those who will ever come to believe in (trust in, cling to, rely on) Me through their word and teaching, That they all may be one, [just] as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me.” (John 17:20-21 AMP) Knowing that He would soon be returning to the Father, Jesus chose to instill the necessity of this total and perfect unity in all around Him.
Since unity was so important to Jesus, it should also be important to us. We must make every effort to promote this unity. “So let us then definitely aim for and eagerly pursue what makes for harmony and for mutual upbuilding (edification and development) of one another.” (Romans 14:19 AMP) In order to pursue unity we must give up some of our own desires and live the life of sacrifice and forgiveness. True wisdom proclaims, ^“Good sense makes a man restrain his anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression or an offense.” (Proverbs 19:11 AMP)
The body of Christ can only obtain unity through God’s strength and power. “For because of Him the whole body (the church, in all its various parts), closely joined and firmly knit together by the joints and ligaments with which it is supplied, when each part [with power adapted to its need] is working properly [in all its functions], grows to full maturity, building itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:16 AMP) God has designed us and joined us together to be a single, strong unit.
Like that train track, we are not put together just to be a beautiful and strong unit. We are to be a beautiful and strong unit for a greater purpose of reaching the world with the love of God. Just as a train track means nothing without the train and is useless, the body of Christ is perfectly put together so the gospel can be seen in us. “By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you love one another [if you keep on showing love among yourselves].” (John 13: 35 AMP) We are to carry the love of God to the lost and dying world. It is on the tracks of our unity that God’s love can move into the lives of those around us.

So allow the power of God to enable you to live in unity with all believers. Refuse to allow anything to break the bonds built between others and you.