5 Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Applying the OT teaching about Christ to the tension Christians inevitably experience, Paul expresses the need for perseverance and encouragement. Genuine fellowship and unity can be hard—in fact, they are impossible apart from God’s help! So Paul invokes God in his instructions to the Roman believers, in an implied prayer, a sort of benediction: “May God….”
We can learn much from the apostle’s prayer. He doesn’t specifically ask for God to give them perseverance and encouragement but refers to God’s character. Prayer is rooted in the knowledge of God. Paul knows that God is the one “who gives” these things, so he calls on God to therefore give them unity. Unity among Christians is rooted in the character of God, as the One who provides what is necessary for what He calls us to do and to be. Our unity reflects on Him.
One does not have to be part of a local church very long before discovering that Christians continue to struggle with selfishness, pride, jealousy, envy, bitterness, anger and a host of other sinful thoughts and behaviors. All these seriously hinder the unity that Christ desired when He prayed to the Father, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one” (John 17:22).
Being “of the same mind” (see also Rom 12:16) does not mean walking in lockstep. When that happens some people have stopped thinking. But we should have the same attitude of love toward God and one another (Phil 2:2), even when we disagree. In fact, the ultimate testimony of unity is when people disagree but still love one another and pursue the glory of God together. Think of two brothers arguing about politics as they work together to replace a roof on one of their homes. In the middle of their heated disagreement, one says to the other, “Pass me some nails, would you?” and the other says, “Sure, brother.” They finish the roof and the political disagreement carries on. As believers, we may disagree on many things, but with God’s help (perseverance and encouragement) we continue serving together with the common goal of glorifying Him together. Our disagreements are minor.
Lord, at times it is so hard to get along with other Christians. Please give me the grace to find ways that I might work together with them to glorify You.
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