We need it again
This year, for the first time in my life, I found myself eagerly awaiting Pentecost. That anticipation came from a deepening longing in my heart—a longing for unity among Christians. A longing for the body of Christ to come together as one.
Over the past months, I’ve had honest conversations with Christians from various denominations. Some discussions were warm, others defensive. But in every case, I shared the conviction growing within me: If the Holy Spirit is truly guiding us, why wouldn’t we be drawn to unity?
After all, the Spirit leads us to Jesus. Jesus leads us to the Father. And the Father glorifies the Son. None of them ever work against one another. So how could the Spirit inspire division, pride, or condemnation among those who claim to follow Christ?
I reject the idea that the Spirit prompts believers to condemn other Christian groups under the banner of truth. If anything, the Spirit calls us to compassion, patience, and prayer. He encourages us to listen before we speak, to seek clarity through surrender, and to invite His presence into our misunderstandings. If the enemy’s goal is confusion, then surely the Spirit’s goal is clarity—and reconciliation.
Yes, we are all flawed. None of us fully understand the mystery of God. Sin clouds our vision. Pride can lead us astray. But when our hearts are sincere, I believe the Spirit will guide us back—again and again.
To those who believe they’ve got it all figured out: if that’s true, why aren’t more people drawn to the truth you hold? At Pentecost, when the Spirit descended, the apostles didn’t argue doctrine—they preached the living Christ. And the crowd responded, in many languages, with open hearts. Three centuries later, without institutional power, 10% of the Roman Empire had become Christian. The Church faced persecution, yet it grew through witness, love, and spiritual authority.
Even when disputes arose, believers gathered in council to pray and discern together. They fought for unity.
But then came division. Instead of confronting sin in the Church, some chose separation. Instead of reform, there was rejection. Later, power and pride pulled more people away, until we arrived at the fractured Church landscape we see today—thousands of denominations, each claiming to hold the truth.
And yet, Jesus prayed in John 17:21–23:
“That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you… that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me.”
How do we reconcile that prayer with the reality around us?
We need to repent—not just for sin, but for our stubbornness and divisions. We need to seek unity, not by erasing our differences, but by pursuing Christ together. We must stop speaking at each other and start listening to the Spirit. He will guide us back—if we let Him.
Unity means we are all following the same Leader. It means love, mutual respect, and a shared submission to the One who prayed that we would be one. It means we don’t use the Bible to justify our ideas, but we use the Bible to learn about Jesus’s ideas and look to incorporate them into our lives.
Heaven will not be divided by denomination. So why are we so content to be divided here?
Let’s look to Jesus.
Let’s look to Jesus—and let Him lead us forward.
The musings of Peter 