Copy God's Word: Unity (But First, Humility)

Seven Days in Philippians Two

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Last week I wrote about my personal experience with hand writing Scripture. (Read it here!) As I considered which passages to focus on copying next, our country changed hands again. My pastors prayed this week for unity and read from the closing paragraph in Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”

I hope this letter finds you strong in the faith. I also hope that circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or a civil-rights leader but as a fellow clergyman and a Christian brother. Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.

Yours for the cause of Peace and Brotherhood,

Martin Luther King, Jr.

All of the above drove me to spend time in Scripture about unity. Of course it’s all gold and I’ll make a list of some of these to copy next week. But FIRST. In reading all of these, I realized that it’s impossible to champion unity within the Body of Christ if we are not first practicing humility as individuals.

So, I returned to the passage on humility that I have memorized more than once (I’m quite forgetful) and have copied countless times. It’s the passage that always does me in when I falsely think I have the high ground, when I find reasons to complain, or when I’m bending toward restlessness (again). It’s the passage that turns my eyes away from myself and toward the cross, which is where all our unity is truly held.

Philippians 2 brings us a double shot of humility topped with a call to joy. We see Jesus pay the ultimate price to unify all of his people by humbling himself in the most epic of ways. Jesus is the entire framework for humility.

Paul’s friends are in a tough spot in history, facing a lot of pressure, with divides creeping into their fellowship. He tells them to work out their own salvation, to not complain/grumble, and to consider others more significant than themselves. He reminds them here, as he does in other letters, to be glad and rejoice with him during their uncertain times. And in his baffling joy over the privilege of suffering and striving for the sake of the Gospel, Paul also echoes the Bible’s consistent call for humble unity among God’s people—that we will shine like lights in this world.

Copying and Praying Through Philippians 2

I made this following “plan,” or whatever these suggestions/encouragements may be called, with the intention of spending a week prayerfully copying from the passage. By this I mean that I will pray for the Holy Spirit to make me aware of my own blind spots and needs for humility; pray for unity within my own church family; and pray for Christlike unity among all believers in our country and in our world.

Here is the Scripture printout (ESV) you can use for copying if it’s not practical to copy from your physical Bible. And of course any other Bible app or solid translation you prefer will do just fine. Just copy God’s Word!

» Copy God’s Word: Philippians 2 «

Ultimately I pray that our humble fellowship and joy-filled testimony will make us shine as lights in the world, or as Pastor King wrote, that the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.

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