“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! … for there the LORD commanded the blessing – life forevermore.” (Psalm 133:1, 3 NKJV)

True confession: I’m not a very good Pentecostal. I’m not a very good Baptist, either. Oh, I’ve been to a variety of wonderful churches; that isn’t the problem. It isn’t because my faith background is very different, either. I’m Jewish, and because most of my people don’t know Jesus, I don’t even fit there…

I have always had an eclectic bunch of friends, and I truly love many people in widely varying denominations, races, nationalities and cultures. You don’t have to be like me for me to like you! So, what’s with the “misfit syndrome?”

Finally, after years of church angst, I realized that nothing was “wrong.” God was just trying to teach me something.

It all started when I was an Episcopal, way back in the 70’s. I met Jesus a few years prior and wanted to serve Him. So, I was working with another lay leader to bring important, nationally known speakers into the church for special meetings.

Our church was a hub of activity in the city, so it was all very exciting. People from all sorts of groups would come to these meetings – and God brought every speaker we asked for – but not to our church!

I started getting upset and a bit jealous, too. What’s with this, God? We were being very specific in our prayers; they were supposed to come to our church! What were we doing wrong? Nothing! We were praying effectively, but God heard our prayers through His ears and answered according to His will.

After a while, the light dawned: When God looks down on the city, He sees one church, the Church in the City. He was answering our prayers, but according to His perspective, not ours.

A quick glance at the Bible confirmed it. In the Old Testament, there was one group that belonged to God, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They multiplied into 12 tribes, each with their own real estate in the Promised Land, but there was one group in each city that belonged to God.

In the New Testament, Paul refers to the church in Ephesus or Corinth or whatever city is being addressed. Jesus did the same thing! He actually spoke to cities as a whole, like Bethsaida and Chorazin (Matthew 11:21).

In Matthew 23:37, He said, “Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem … how often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”

A hen gathers her chicks close to her to protect them under her wings. When she does, they also get very close to each other and are pretty much squished together in a tight, but secure place, close enough to hear her heartbeat.

Jesus still wants to gather His people to Himself – just like that.

In Psalm 133, we see God’s heart. This song was sung as the pilgrims went to Jerusalem for the feasts. A few times each year, God called all of His children to assemble in Jerusalem. Each tribe and each family from each city gathered under His wings, if you will. As they went, they celebrated the fact that all of God’s people – no matter where they lived – belonged to Him.

Now, brothers don’t always get along, but what a blessing it is when they do! I raised three kids, so I know this firsthand. There is a special pain that a parent feels when the children bicker and fight. Believe me, at times like that, I had no desire to bless them…

However, this psalm tells us that the Lord Himself commands blessing upon us when we “dwell together in unity.” He gives us “life forevermore,” the abundant life that comes from knowing Him up close and personally, the intimate fellowship with Him – and each other – we have under His wings. Wow! What could be better than that?

The good news is that we don’t need to create this kind of unity. He has already done this by putting His very own Spirit inside each believer. We just need to let Him gather us close to Himself and to each other. Our job is to “… [bear] with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:2-3 NKJV) .

As we humble ourselves to receive God’s grace to do this, Paul’s prayer for unity will be answered. “… Rooted and grounded in love, [we will] be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that [we] may be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:17-19 NKJV).

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”