“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”

                                                                                                1 Corinthians 1:10

A man is out sailing, and a terrible storm blows up quickly. His boat is tossed about in the waves and he has no control over the direction it is taking. Suddenly, the man is jarred and knocked down. His boat has hit a rock, and it begins to take on water.

Having no other choice, the man jumps overboard and frantically swims as hard as he can until he passes out. When he awakens, he is lying on a secluded beach and behind him lies what little is left of his ship.

He is shipwrecked.

He begins to search the island and finds out he is the only inhabitant. He exists from day to day, and finally realizes there is no promise of ever being rescued. He does all he can – builds fires as signals, but eventually over time he accepts that he must get on with his life.

The months pass, and then years, and he is lonely but comfortable in his life. But one day, far off in the distance, he can make out the outline of a ship. He hurriedly builds a fire and becomes ecstatic when he realizes the boat is headed in his direction. Finally, he will be rescued.

The boat docks out a distance from the shore and a smaller boat is put in the water with a few men on board. As the head toward the shore, he runs out in the water to meet them. When the crew arrives, he cries and hugs them and thanks them and tells them they’re the first people he’s seen since his bot hit a rock and sank three years earlier.

The men get out of the boat and as they are walking along, they see three huts set just back past the edge of the wooded area. They ask the man if he is the only one on the island, why are there three huts?

The man proudly says, "The first one is my house, and the second one is my church.”

The men are impressed but still confused. They ask what the third hut is for. And the man replies with a snort and grimace, “Oh, that. That’s the church I used to go to."

Until the church comes together, we will all look like fools as our words say one thing, but our actions say another. Unity, folks. Unity.

Lord Jesus, we are sorry for what we do to the church You bled and died to build. Forgive us and point us in the direction of unity and commitment to You and to each other. In Your Name we pray, AMEN.