By: Pam Lilly
It was the realization of the significance of this God assignment to write, The First, the Only, the Few: Why Unity in Christ is Not Always Black and White that compelled me to obey God and tell my story. My personal journey, filled with challenges and triumphs, has shaped my understanding of unity in Christ and its importance in our lives and the lives of others. I hope my story resonates with you, as we all have our own journeys that shape our understanding of unity.
Writing this book was by far the hardest thing I have ever done. It caused me to look back to the not-so-distant past and share my story of growing up in America, about 100 years after slavery ended, and living through the desegregation era in our country. My first day in kindergarten was the day schools were desegregated in my hometown.
That was 1968, the same year Dr. Martin Luther King was killed. And while I was only five years old, I still remember the hushed disbelief and sadness in our home that someone had taken the life of this now-celebrated leader. Imagine the despair and hopelessness in that moment. After all, his kids were my age and a little older.
My dad, who is now 85 years old, would have been in his mid-teens when Rosa Parks (credited with setting off the Civil Rights Movement) refused to give up her seat on the bus in Montgomery, Alabama, on December 1, 1955. This African American history is American History that happened in the not-so-distant past. No wonder we still feel the aches and pains of our divided existence. We can still see it in our rearview mirror, staring back at us. It’s our collective and individual dreams – the American dream stained by these memories.
What would have happened if that great Preacher and oracle had lived on and his unifying message had not been silenced? Where would we (The Church) be on our journey to oneness and becoming unified as Jesus prayed so that the world would know that God the Father sent Him? I long for more Christian leaders crying out for unity!
As we think about Black History at this particular time of year, let’s dwell on the history that still lives among us and what we can learn from them. One day, we will yearn for their wisdom and the lessons we could have gleaned from those still here like my father. We will wonder why we didn’t ask more questions and get their perspective. When they have gone on to Glory to receive their eternal reward, some of us will still be here trying to complete the Great Commission.
For years, I’ve focused my ministry work on completing the Great Commission. It’s been my passion ever since I was a child – getting God’s Word to everyone. Maps, geography, languages, cultures, and diverse people have been an interest of mine from about 12 years old, when a missionary couple serving in rural Louisiana, where I grew up, would share their correspondence from a missionary serving in Africa with me. My curiosity was peaked, and my imagination was stirred with ideas of what people living in foreign lands looked and sounded like.
Many years later, after working in the travel industry for 20 years, God called me to serve Him, raising funds for His Kingdom using the same skills and expertise I had honed in corporate travel. I began fundraising for Great Commission ministries to spread God’s Word among unreached people groups, most of which were non-literate. This satisfying work gave me tremendous joy. I considered it a privilege to do this amazing work of raising the funds necessary for specific people groups to have the Scripture orally in their heart language.
Imagine my surprise when God called me into the oneness and unity space. To put it mildly, I threw a tantrum, and like Moses, I begged God to find someone else to do it. Surely, there was someone else that He could get to take up the cause of Unity in Christ. After all, what’s more urgent than getting His Word to people who have never heard about Jesus and His love for them and inviting them to put their faith in our Lord and Savior?
In the days and weeks following, I could no longer deny His request, so out of sheer obedience; I started writing the book for which He had given me the title: The First, the Only, the Few.” After several months of writing what I thought was God’s heart and message for the manuscript, He began to reveal His real motive behind calling me to share my story. Unity, yes – but for a very specific reason – for the sake of the world knowing Him. He began impressing upon me the urgency of our unity and it stirred my heart to action.
In John 17:23, before Jesus was arrested and led to the cross, he prayed for those who would believe in Him: “…that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” After he asked for the disciples’ sanctification, He also prayed a commissioning prayer, saying, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world (John 17:17-18). Jesus’ prayer expresses the importance of unity among His followers to evangelism and the completion of the Great Commission.
Let’s not overlook the prescription that Jesus gave us in His prayer that will fuel our movement to finish the task He assigned his disciples. Our Unity is not just a concept but the very inspiration behind reaching the rest of the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our love for one another is not just a feeling but the attraction to which the world will be drawn. Our Oneness is not just a goal, but it is what the world is waiting to see and marvel at. The impact of our unity on evangelism is immeasurable, and it’s time we utilize this power.
We can be one – united because Jesus gave us His glory to accomplish unity. Let’s be one and watch the impact it will have locally and globally, just like Jesus said! Let’s embrace His glory and evangelize the world through our unity.
The School of Peace provides Gaza refugee children with education, daily meals and a safe space to heal, helping restore
The School of Peace provides Gaza refugee children with education, daily meals and a safe space to heal, helping restore
The School of Peace provides Gaza refugee children with education, daily meals and a safe space to heal, helping restore
