“Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:14.

“In the plan of redemption a place is allotted to every soul. To each man is given his work. No one can be a member of Christ’s body and yet be inactive…. The work of God’s people may and will be varied, but one Spirit is the mover in it all. All the work done for the Master is to be connected with the great whole. The workers are to labour together in concert, each one controlled by divine power, putting forth undivided effort to draw those around them to Christ. All must move like parts of a well-adjusted machinery, each part dependent on the other part, yet standing distinct in action. And each one is to take the place assigned him and do the work appointed him. God calls upon the members of His church to receive the Holy Spirit, to come together in unity and brotherly sympathy, to bind their interests together in love.

Nothing so manifestly weakens a church as disunion and strife. Nothing so wars against Christ and the truth as this spirit….

He in whose heart Christ abides recognizes Christ abiding in the heart of his brother. Christ never wars against Christ. Christ never exerts an influence against Christ. Christians are to do their work, whatever it may be, in the unity of the Spirit, for the perfecting of the whole body.” –My Life Today, p. 276.

Questions to think about:

How will the Lord’s work be completed at the end?

How does the believer, in whose heart Christ abides, recognize Christ’s abiding in the heart of his brother?

What weakens a church?