In 2020, I took my fifth trip to Israel with a great group of people from my church. We packed in as many sites as possible over sixteen days. During that time we developed a special bond, and I think I understand why. To be taken out of the context of everyday life and placed in the Holy Land is a magnetic experience. Walking where Jesus walked, seeing the places we’ve only read about in the Scriptures, and visiting sites long thought non-existent but now revealed in archaeological digs all over the country–it is fascinating. To see the origins of our faith together was unifying. The faith of our past served as a reminder of how we are to live in light of our future hope–with urgency, as we await the Lord’s return. 

Paul writes about that sense of urgency in 1 Thessalonians 5. He encourages Christians in Thessalonica to live each day in light of the Day of the Lord. We are to be people of the day, not the night (v.5), alert and sober, not asleep (v.6), and destined for salvation in Jesus Christ, not for wrath (v.9). “Encourage one another, and build each other up,” he says, “just as you are already doing.”(v.11). He follows with an entreaty on how we live in the meantime (Vv. 12-22). Every verse is a prescription for unity. 

What Paul prescribes is much like what we experienced in Israel. On our last day, we attended church together in Jerusalem. As we joined together with other Christians in the Holy Land, our future hope and present life melded together in joyful worship. Perhaps we had just a glimpse of our future hope. 

The unity we share with other believers is a special gift. Wherever you serve, I pray that you have the oneness in fellowship that defines us as we await His return. 

“Any group of compatible people can enjoy themselves, but Christians can enrich their social enjoyment with the knowledge that when they spend time together, they can have an eternally significant impact on one another.” Larry Crabb