Along the coast of northern California are great forests of redwoods—the giant sequoias. Redwoods are noted for age, beauty, and fine wood. But one unusual characteristic of redwoods is their tendency toward unity.
These trees may grow up together several feet apart and after 50-100 years the trees begin to touch. Quite often the bark begins to overlap and fill out so that the 2 trees ultimately become one.
There are cases where a dozen trees have sprung up from the outer roots of a tree that has fallen and have formed a perfect circle. After several centuries these trees have grown together so that outwardly they appear as a single giant tree!
In keeping with Christ’s prayer in John 17:20-26, the goal of the body of Christ should be to grow into such unity that the world will recognize us as one.
The display of such unity in our individualistic society will be a testimony to the world of the divine Person and work of Christ.
Remember that this unity can draw the world to Christ, along with our mutual submission to each other and our unconditional love for each other.
As our church family looks ahead to what God has in store for 2025, my prayer for us is:
- That we would be of one mind and purpose as a church as we share the Gospel.
- That we would freely submit to one another as Jesus submitted to the Father.
- That we would share the Gospel out of love without watering it down.
- That we would be people of the Word.
By God’s grace, let’s embrace 2025 with joy.
— Pastor John