In Tune

     "Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other?  They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow.  So one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become 'unity' conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship." - A.W. Tozer
     Hmmm...that's a pretty strong statement!  I can be as unified with a believer from a foreign country, whom I have never met, as I can be with the friend I see every Sunday and mid-week service.  I can also be spiritually estranged from Jesus if my focus is on a closer relationship with people rather than a relationship with Christ.  Ultimately, for the believer, if we are "tuned" to one another, rather than to Christ, the result will be an unrest in our spirits and a message to unbelievers that the goal of Christianity is reconciliation to our fellow man...rather than the reconciliation of sinful mankind to a holy God.  
      As believers, we stand in danger of sending the same message to fellow believers...that God is more concerned with our fellowship than He is concerned with our personal obedience and closeness to HIM.  Distinguishing between the two (when to "get along" with believers and when to "get alone" with God) can be a tremendous emotional struggle.  Taking a stand on either side requires prayer, discernment, and considerable resolve to put Christ first, regardless of how we are viewed by our religious peers.  Sometimes we are called to serve alongside believers who hold different standards than we hold, but that unity in service must never come at the cost of what God has called us to in our personal ministry to and for Him.  Sometimes, I need reminded that our primary goal as believers is to reach sinners with the gospel and that carrying that most valuable truth often calls us to mirror our Lord who was despised and rejected of men.  Fellowship and the "assembly of ourselves together" is a fringe benefit of the calling, but it can never precede, and certainly never replace the calling.    
     I hope this will encourage us to corporate unity, but only that which is condoned by God's Word and secondary to our personal and immediate obedience to the voice of Christ. Seek reconciliation, but realize that some people will only accept you back into their circle when you return as a prodigal. Simply put, if you left to sin, you're a prodigal.  If you left to serve, you are not. I have seen so many people "repent" and assume the prodigal label because it was a lesser pain than the rejection and loneliness of being ostracized by the people they love. Very little can be so debilitating as rejection, but believing you cannot live without the approval of everyone in your circle is idolatry and far more debilitating.
     Remember, we are instruments of Christ...not instruments of fellow believers.  As much as we love them, and as thankful we are for their fellowship, the standard, the tuning fork for a "harmonious"life must be Christ alone. If we are to win the world to Jesus, our song must be HIS song.  Otherwise, we are drawing men to ourselves and social circle instead of to their only hope for salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ.

"For in him we live, and move, and have our being..."