The Hardest Command of All

Finally, brothers and sisters ... agree with one another ...

 - From 2 Corinthians 13

Yes, I know - the advice comes from Paul. These words are not a commandment from God. 

But when Paul closed his epistles, he focused on the really serious stuff. He summarized with words he hoped they got, if nothing else he wrote soaked in.

If God had ejected one of the Ten Commandments, and replaced it with this one: "Agree with one another," it would have been the hardest one of all to follow. 

Stubborn, bullheaded people.

When Jesus was praying in Gethsemane, the night before His trial, he was sweating so profusely, that blood came forth from His pores. I guess this is actually a true medical condition - stress so severe that it becomes debilitating and dangerous. 

What was His most ardent prayer to the Father, in this, His most anguished moment?

"That Your Church be One, as You and I are One."

Jesus wanted us to be united, even as much as the Son is, with the Father. That's unity.

The water molecules floating about in a pond, are not as unified as that. 

And so Paul made sure to make it a major point, with a simplified, practical prescription: "Agree with one another."

Paul seems not to even worry about whether or not somebody is right. He throws up his hands, and says "Just agree."

Do you want to know how to end social media anger, just like that? Do you wonder whether, on the scale of spiritual maturity, agreeableness ranks higher than doctrinal purity? 

Now, you can still have your rigid beliefs. But when it comes to interacting with other believers, Paul says to just agree. This is probably what will be the most persuasive to them anyway. This phrase from the Lectionary, today, could not be more timely:

Agree with one another.