The Church should be leading the way in all kinds of unity: racial, political, economic. From the beginning, the Holy Spirit demonstrated the ability to reach across cultural divides:

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” (Acts 2.5 – 11, ESV)

Our pastor Sunday marveled at Acts 2:44: “And all who believed were together and had everything in common.” He said, “They didn’t have anything in common! Except in the Holy Spirit.

The fruit of the Spirit is “love, joy, peace,…” (Galatians 5.22) while the works of the flesh include “…hatred, discord, fits of rage, dissensions, factions…” (Galatians 5.19, 20). A former pastor used to point out that the Spanish word for “devil” is “diablo” – the splitter. It’s the enemy’s nature to try to divide us: people from God and people from each other. It’s God’s nature to bring us together.

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. (Ephesians 2.14 – 17, NIV)