The Importance of Working Together
If you ever watch in nature, many animals and insects innately work together. Geese fly in a “V” formation. Bees have specific roles within the hive. Even ants have highly organized societies called colonies.
It’s not unlike what we see taking place in Nehemiah 3. For many of us, we might be tempted to skip over chapter 3 because it’s filled with hard to pronounce names like Eliashib, Hassenaah, Meremoth. Each of these people had work, families and stories of their own, yet they were able to work, pray, worship, laugh and cry next to one another.
My sense is that the words “next to” are crucial here. Nobody worked alone, trying to control the project. The repairs were made by people working side by side. Their diversity worked in unity, and I have no doubt that their love and care for each other caught the eye of people watching them.
When Paul wrote to the Romans in Chapter 12, or when he wrote to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 12:12), surely he must have had this idea in view. Because of Jesus Christ, we are one body with many parts. When we work together as Christ’s hands and feet, we show the body of Christ, the unity of Christ, and the grace and peace of Christ. I believe that when that happens, Jesus becomes contagious and winsome.
